Council due to consult on Council Tax Support scheme
- Consultation to begin 8 August with public and targeted sessions planned to explain the scheme
- Voluntary and community organisations will help reach more people
- Scheme impacts to be assessed before decision is made
Councillor David Ashton, Cabinet Member for Finance, said:
“We want to make sure that Council Tax Support continues to be available to our most vulnerable residents, now and in the future. We believe the fairest way to do that is to ask others, for instance those able to work, to contribute more.
“We’ve not made any decision yet – but it’s important that if we do so we have more information about what the impact might be. That’s why we are working closely with our community partners to reach more people.
“No one likes to make difficult decisions but, in the context of an overall budget deficit of £15.3 million over the next three years, it forces us to consider options that would see a reduction in the amount of help some claimants receive. Other councils are facing the same challenge and to take no action could put Harrow in financial difficulty and affect our ability to provide services.”
Cabinet gave the go ahead on Thursday to ask what the impacts could be of changing the way support is given.
The Council plans to work closely with the voluntary and community sector to make sure all voices can be heard during the consultation period.
All 8,200 households that currently receive Council Tax Support will be written to asking them to take part in the consultation. There will also be public events, which will be advertised through social media and the MyHarrowTalk site.
The proposed changes would not affect those who are most vulnerable, who would still retain the current high level of support of 86%. Pensioner-only households would also be protected under national schemes.
But the changes would ensure that everyone in the household makes a fair contribution towards funding local services via the council tax. Those living in higher banded properties (Bands E-H) would also no longer receive greater levels of support than those occupying lower banded properties if the changes went ahead.
The consultation will be hosted on www.talk.harrow.gov.uk/cts and is due to launch 8 August.