Decision details

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Finance which sought approval for Local Taxation and Benefits Discretionary Polices for 2019/20, covering Discretionary Council Tax Discounts, discretionary Business Rate Relief, Local Welfare Provision and Discretionary Housing payments.

The report provided the full detail of proposed updates to the discretionary policies used to support Local Taxation and Benefits administration i.e. Council Tax, Business Rates, Housing Benefits and Council Tax Reduction administration. The policies and proposed changes were:

The Discretionary Council Tax Discounts Policy

·       To widen the Council Tax discount for Care Leavers to support Care Leavers up to the age of 25.

·       To introduce criteria to set out the circumstances in which the Council will support those experiencing exceptional financial hardship in paying their Council Tax.

·       To incorporate these two areas of discretionary support into one overarching Discretionary Council Tax Discounts Policy.

The Discretionary Rate Relief Policy

·       To incorporate details of the new Retail Discount Policy

·       Revision of the policy to reflect the removal of Central Government funded Pub Relief and Local Newspaper Relief schemes

·       An adjustment to the Discretionary Revaluation Relief policy to re-introduce the requirement for businesses to apply for this relief and to reflect reduced Government funding in the third year of the scheme.

The Local Welfare Provision Policy

·       To include reference to supporting care leavers up to the age of 25 via this scheme

The Discretionary Housing Payment Policy

·       To include reference to supporting care leavers under 25

·       To adjust the criteria setting out the period of time for which an award will be granted to support those needing help in meeting their housing costs. This will normally be 26 weeks.

Members welcomed the changes to the policies particularly the proposal to widen the Council Tax discount for Care Leavers to support Care Leavers up to the age of 25.

Options/Alternatives

Option 1 - Members could choose to not to agree the changes in relation to each of the proposed revisions to discretionary policies.

Option 2 – Approve the Local Taxation and Benefits Discretionary Policies. 

Option 2 – Approve some of the proposed changes to Local Taxation and Benefits Discretionary Policies.

RESOLVED - The Local Taxation and Benefits’ Discretionary Policies for the 2019/20 financial year (as presented at Appendices 1 to 4) be approved, including revisions to address legislative and local issues.