Cost of living crisis: council tax support set to continue for Sheffield low-income households
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The council tax hardship scheme would also continue to operate in the same way it does now. That provides support for council taxpayers in the most need and the fund for 2022/23 is set at £2m.
After the government scrapped council tax benefit in 2013 and moved responsibility for paying support on to local authorities, the council gives a 77% discount on their council tax to working-age people who are eligible for help. This is known as council tax support (CTS). Some pensioners pay nothing.
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Hide AdA report to the council’s finance sub-committee meeting tomorrow states: “Funding for CTS is included in the overall grant we receive from Government. It is not responsive to changes in demand. For example, a significant increase in demand for assistance from the scheme, perhaps triggered by a rise in unemployment, would lead to the council forgoing more council tax than it had planned for.
‘Detrimental impact’
“And as overall funding continues to be cut, maintaining or increasing the level of support under the scheme comes at a real cost to the council. Consequently, when reviewing the CTRS (council tax reduction scheme) each year, the council needs to ensure it is able to meet the financial demands of that scheme throughout the year in question and be aware of the financial impacts this may have.”
The number of people eligible for CTS support last October stood at 43,081, which cost £40.1m in 2021-22, slightly below the amount forecast. The sum for 2022-23 is £39.3m, also down on the forecast.
The council suspended recovery action for unpaid council tax during the pandemic. The report says that, although more working-age people receiving CTS now realise they have to make a contribution, the temporary halt on payment recovery “had a detrimental impact on the overall collection rate”.
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Hide AdThe authority has now issued 7,000 summonses for non-payment to people who receive CTS.
The report suggests waiting until universal credit has been fully rolled out by the government before making changes to the scheme related to its introduction.