Agenda item

Council Tax Support Scheme 2025-26

Council Tax Support Scheme: Final scheme for working age people for 2025/26

 

Executive Summary

NNDC operates a scheme which reduces the council tax bills of eligible working age people on low incomes known as the Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme. NNDC is free to decide the rules for its own CTS schemes for working-age people in our area, taking into account certain government requirements. There are national regulations for a CTS Scheme for customers who have reached pension age. This report only refers to NNDC’s CTS Scheme for working-age people.

 

NNDC’s CTS Scheme is reviewed annually, and the rules can only be amended from the start of a financial year. The initial stages of the setting the Council’s 2025/26 budget identified a £1.8m deficit.

 

Services were asked to consider where savings could be realised, and the annual review of the CTS scheme presented an opportunity to potentially achieve some savings. A working party was formed to review proposals to the CTS scheme for 2025/26. 

 

The working party came up with a revised scheme and agreed to go to consult the public about the proposed changes. The public consultation ran from 24th October 2024 to 24th November 2024. A total of 96 responses were received and the results are summarised at Appendix D.

 

No further changes are proposed to the draft scheme following the consultation.

Options considered

 

The working party were presented with the proposed changes to the CTS scheme.

 

The draft scheme is largely a continuation of the 2024/25 CTS scheme for working-age people. The proposed changes align the scheme with Universal Credit, to simplify the process of claiming, and to bring efficiencies in the administration of these CTS claims.

 

A summary of the scheme rules is included in the report to the working party and is included at D.

 

The CTS Scheme rules will also continue to reflect any relevant welfare benefit changes made to the working-age Housing Benefit scheme or Pension Age CTS scheme.

Consultation(s)

The CTS regulations state that the Council must consult our major preceptors, then draft a CTS Scheme to go to public consultation.

 

Norfolk County Council (NCC) and Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) were consulted. NCC have confirmed they agree with the proposed changes.  We did not receive a response from the PCC.

 

The public consultation ran for four weeks from 24th October 2024 to 24th November 2024. A total of 96 surveys were completed, an increase of 80% compared to the consultation run in 2021.

 

The full results of the survey, including all the comments, are included in the CTS Consultation Evaluation which is shown at Appendix E. This report should be read in conjunction with the evaluation.

 

The responses show that most people agreed with the proposed changes.

Recommendations

 

Cabinet is asked to note the consultation responses and to recommend to full Council that the CTS scheme for 2025/26 is implemented as the final working-age CTS Scheme for 2025/26. This must be agreed by full Council at its meeting on 19th February 2025 as part of the budget setting process to start on 1 April 2025.

Reasons for recommendations

 

To ensure a CTS scheme for working-age people for 2025/26 is agreed by full Council by 19th February 2025.

 

Background papers

 

Council Tax Support Scheme 2024/25

Working Party Proposals – 1st October 2024

Working Party Public Consultation Evaluation – 5th December 2024

Public Consultation Questionnaire

Public Consultation Explanatory Notes

 

 

Wards affected

All

Cabinet member(s)

Portfolio Holder - Wendy Fredericks

 

Working Party – Cllr Tim Adams, Cllr Jill Boyle, Cllr Peter Netherway, Cllr Peter Fisher, Cllr Victoria Holliday

Contact Officer

Trudi Grant, Benefits Manager

 

Decision:

Decision

RESOLVED to recommend to Full Council:

 

That the proposed Council Tax Support scheme (CTS) for 2025/26 is implemented as the final working-age CTS Scheme for 2025/26.

 

Reason for the decision:

 

To ensure a CTS scheme for working-age people for 2025/26 is agreed by full Council by 19th February 2025

 

Minutes:

Cllr W Fredericks, Portfolio Holder for Benefits, introduced this item. She began by thanking the Council Tax Support Working Party for their work in reviewing the proposed options for a council tax support (CTS) scheme for 2025/2026.

 

She explained that the proposed scheme was largely a continuation of the 2024/25 CTS scheme for working-age people, with changes proposed to align the scheme with Universal Credit, simplifying the process of claiming, and to bring efficiencies in the administration of these CTS claims. She added that CTS Scheme rules would also continue to reflect any relevant welfare benefit changes made to the working-age Housing Benefit scheme or Pension Age CTS scheme.

 

Cllr Fredericks explained that by choosing option 2, which introduced a flat rate, claimants would receive more money and the administration of the scheme would be simplified.

 

The Chairman thanked everyone for their work on the new scheme and commended it for continuing to protect vulnerable residents whilst providing flexibility to accommodate a change in circumstances.

 

Cllr Withington sought clarification that the new scheme would put North Norfolk residents in a better position than before. She also asked how it compared to the schemes provided at neighbouring Norfolk authorities. Cllr Fredericks confirmed that it would ensure residents were in a better position financially and that by aligning the scheme with Universal Credit, claims would be processed much more quickly.

 

It was proposed by Cllr W Fredericks, seconded by Cllr T Adams and

 

RESOLVED to recommend to Full Council:

 

That the proposed Council Tax Support scheme (CTS) for 2025/26 is implemented as the final working-age CTS Scheme for 2025/26.

 

Reason for the decision:

To ensure a CTS scheme for working-age people for 2025/26 is agreed by full Council by 19th February 2025

 

 

Supporting documents: