Agenda item

Council Tax Energy Rebate (Discretionary) Scheme

Summary:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options considered:

The Government has announced the Council Tax Energy Rebate Scheme to provide a £150 non repayable rebate for eligible households in council tax bands A-D and includes discretionary funding for billing authorities to support households who are in need but not eligible for the Council Tax Energy Rebate under the mandatory scheme. The discretionary scheme and eligibility criteria are set out in this report for approval.

 

To not approve the Council Tax Energy Rebate (Discretionary) Scheme would miss the opportunity to provide financial support to those in need of support with rising energy costs and to provide top-up support to the most financially vulnerable households.

 

To not approve the scheme would be a contravention to the legislation laid down by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on 3rd February 2022.

 

To have no written scheme in place would mean there is no visible guidance of eligibility criteria and outline of the approach taken by the Council in determining when a discretionary rebate is to be paid or not. This would not be recommended as it could cause some uncertainty for residents.

 

To not approve delegated authority to the Benefits Manager to make technical scheme amendments would cause delay in reflecting any revised government guidance into the scheme, such as changes in eligibility criteria, and would cause uncertainty.

 

To not delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer, or their deputy, in consultation with the Assistant Director for People Services or the Cabinet Member for Housing and Benefits to make amendments to the scheme, such as the eligibility criteria and amount of the discretionary award, would not provide the ability to quickly make amendments to manage spending within the limited funding allocation.

 

Conclusions:

 

The proposed scheme allows the council to provide support to those households who are not eligible to a payment under the mandatory scheme, primarily due to the technicalities in council tax legislation, and to support the most financially vulnerable households who are in receipt of council tax reduction. The criteria and application process set out in the scheme is designed to be clear and as easy to administer as possible to each eligible household. The council will be in a position to make payments in a timely manner to provide the financial support needed. This scheme supports our corporate priority to support communities and provide excellent public service.

Recommendations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reasons for

Recommendations:

 

To agree the scheme for the Council Tax Energy Rebate (Discretionary) scheme as detailed in Appendix 1.

 

To delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer, or their deputy, in consultation with the Assistant Director for People Services or the Cabinet Member for Housing and Benefits, to make amendments to the scheme eligibility criteria and the amount of the discretionary award.

 

To delegate authority to the Benefits Manager to make scheme amendments which are required to give effect to any revised government guidance.

 

The Government is providing all billing authorities with discretionary funding to support other energy bill payers who are not eligible under the mandatory scheme for the £150 council tax rebate, and to provide carefully targeted “top-up” payments to the most vulnerable households in bands A-D.

 

It is for each Local Authority to determine agreed guidelines setting out the eligibility criteria for their discretionary funding and have regard to government guidance. It is important to have a written scheme for North Norfolk District Council outlining these and the administration of support payments to provide clarity to individuals.

 

The delegated authorities would ensure any required technical scheme amendments could be updated promptly where there is revised government guidance providing assurance to the scheme and also clarity to households. Any changes in eligibility criteria or the amount of discretionary awards could be changed quickly to ensure spending of the funding allocation is managed to maximise support to households in need and that the fund is not overspent.

 

 

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on to write the report, which do not contain exempt information and which are not published elsewhere)

 

 

Scheme guidance can be found here -

Council tax rebate: factsheet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

Council Tax (Demand Notices and Reduction Schemes) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2022’ which were laid before Parliament on 11 February 2022 and came into force on 12 February 2022. The Regulations can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/127/contents/made

 

 

             

Cabinet Member(s)

 

Cllr Wendy Fredericks

Ward(s) affected

 

All wards

Contact Officer, telephone number and email:

Trudi Grant, Benefits Manager

trudi.grant@north-norfolk.gov.uk

01263 516262

 

 

 

Decision:

To agree the scheme for the Council Tax Energy Rebate (Discretionary) scheme as detailed in Appendix 1.

 

To delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer, or their deputy, in consultation with the Assistant Director for People Services and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Benefits, to make amendments to the scheme eligibility criteria and the amount of the discretionary award.

 

Reason for the Recommendations:

 

The Government is providing all billing authorities with discretionary funding to support other energy bill payers who are not eligible under the mandatory scheme for the £150 council tax rebate, and to provide carefully targeted “top-up” payments to the most vulnerable households in bands A-D.

 

It is for each Local Authority to determine agreed guidelines setting out the eligibility criteria for their discretionary funding and have regard to government guidance. It is important to have a written scheme for North Norfolk District Council outlining these and the administration of support payments to provide clarity to individuals.

 

The delegated authorities would ensure any required technical scheme amendments could be updated promptly where there is revised government guidance providing assurance to the scheme and also clarity to households. Any changes in eligibility criteria or the amount of discretionary awards could be changed quickly to ensure spending of the funding allocation is managed to maximise support to households in need and that the fund is not overspent

Minutes:

Cllr W Fredericks, the Portfolio Holder for Housing & Benefits, introduced this item. She explained that the Government had announced the Council Tax Energy Rebate Scheme to provide a £150 non repayable rebate for eligible households in council tax bands A-D and included discretionary funding for billing authorities to support households which were in need but not eligible for the rebate under the mandatory scheme. This report set out proposals to establish a scheme to provide support to such households. It was intended to be easy to administer to each eligible household and payments would be made in a timely manner. Cllr Fredericks concluded by thanking officers for their hard work in bringing the proposals together.

 

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

 

RESOLVED

 

To agree the scheme for the Council Tax Energy Rebate (Discretionary) scheme as detailed in Appendix 1.

 

To delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer, or their deputy, in consultation with the Assistant Director for People Services and the Cabinet Member for Housing and Benefits, to make amendments to the scheme eligibility criteria and the amount of the discretionary award.

 

Reason for the Recommendations:

 

The Government is providing all billing authorities with discretionary funding to support other energy bill payers who are not eligible under the mandatory scheme for the £150 council tax rebate, and to provide carefully targeted “top-up” payments to the most vulnerable households in bands A-D.

 

It is for each Local Authority to determine agreed guidelines setting out the eligibility criteria for their discretionary funding and have regard to government guidance. It is important to have a written scheme for North Norfolk District Council outlining these and the administration of support payments to provide clarity to individuals.

 

The delegated authorities would ensure any required technical scheme amendments could be updated promptly where there is revised government guidance providing assurance to the scheme and also clarity to households. Any changes in eligibility criteria or the amount of discretionary awards could be changed quickly to ensure spending of the funding allocation is managed to maximise support to households in need and that the fund is not overspent

Supporting documents: