Isle of Wight councillors have been reminded to read all relevant paperwork before making a decision about tonight’s vote on changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme (CTS).
Due to the reduction in government funding, the Isle of Wight council is continually reviewing their Council Tax Support Scheme, which is designed to help the most vulnerable on the Island.
Protection no longer sustainable
Papers for tonight’s meeting explain how the council is no longer able to afford – at current levels – to offer the same protection to low income households.
A comprehensive consultation exercise was undertaken between September and November last year with service users and stakeholders. The outcome of which can be found in the appendices at the end of the paper embedded below.
The recommendation
The recommendations to members reads,
That Full Council considers:
1. the outcomes of the consultation process set out in this report and in Appendix 1 to this report;
2. the stage 2 equality impact assessments set out in Appendix 2 to this report; Full Council members must review this to have due regard to the changes and implications before making a decision;
3. the options set out in the report and their potential impact as set out in Appendix 3 to this report;
4. the draft local scheme and policies set out in Appendix 4 and 4a to this report; (i) the final scheme to be implemented as per option B as set out in paragraph 58 of this report; (ii) the scheme and policies as set out in Appendices 4 and 4a be agreed;And agrees that:
5. the local Council Tax Reduction scheme for 2017/18 be adopted as set out in Option B of the report and the CTS scheme policy as set out in Appendix 4 as follows:
i. Not to change the support of a maximum 80 per cent of council tax liability for working age claimants.
ii. Not to limit support to a maximum Band C charge.
iii. Not to set a minimum level of CTS at £2 per week.
iv. Mirror some amendments to the Housing Benefit and Pensionable Age CTS national schemes (Absence from GB; ESA work related activity component removed; limit number of dependents for new children born after 1 April 2017; remove Severe Disability Premium where another person is receiving Universal Credit Carers’ Element ).
v. Continue to provide an Exceptional Hardship Fund that would require individual applications and take into account individual circumstances including the claimant’s income and essential outgoings to assist those that are deemed to be in ‘genuine hardship’ and receive additional assistance based on need.
The papers
Full details and links to all those documents the councillors have been advised to read prior to making a decision can be found below.
Isle of Wight Full Council January 2017 Paper D by OnTheWightNews on Scribd
Image: © Tax Rebate
