Changes to Council Tax Support Being Considered
Hounslow wants to introduce 'fairer' system to reduce budget shortfall
Council says some will get more and some will get less under the new system
August 25, 2024
Hounslow Council has announced that it is to hold a consultation on proposals to make changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme.
This is set to pay out around £19million to low-income households in the borough in the current financial year.
The council claims it wants to introduce a ‘fairer’ scheme which will mean some households will get less and some more. Pensioners will not be affected by the proposed changes. This is being proposed to help reduce the current £30million budget shortfall and help produce a balanced budget in the 2025/26 financial year.
The council says increases in costs, especially in Social Care, and historic reductions in Central Government funding, have all meant that further savings measures need to be taken.
The report recommending the changes says they will provide a way of “ensuring everyone in a household makes a fair contribution towards funding local services via Council Tax, thereby ensuring everyone has a stake in the borough.”
Hounslow currently has a scheme which only considers the level of earnings and not the underlying circumstances of the household. It says proposed changes will introduce more targeted support.
The biggest change proposed to the CTS scheme will be that the makeup of a household will be taken into account. This will mean that families without children and members needing care may be more likely to lose the support they currently received.
The changes will also mean that everyone who currently receives 100% support will be liable to pay something. The council says it will offer additional targeted support for those struggling to pay but it expects a rise in arrears as a result of the withdrawal of payments to some households.
Some of those that continue to receive payments may get more as the council is planning to adjust the current income bands for inflation.
The proposals are expected to save the council £4million in the next financial year.
A cabinet meeting is being held on Tuesday 3 September at Hounslow House at which it is anticipated that the go ahead will be given to the consultation which will be held later that month. Residents will be invited to comment on the council’s proposals up until November.
The planned changes will then be discussed at the Council’s February Cabinet Meeting. If approved, the proposals will come into effect in April 2025.
“Hounslow Labour repeatedly reassured the borough that it had delivered a balanced budget, but the announcement of a consultation on new measures to address a massive financial black hole confirms that they have lost control of our finances,” said Peter Thompson, leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council.
“It’s a scandal that the council now looks set to ask some of the most vulnerable residents in our borough to pay hundreds of pounds more in council tax, in addition to the almost inevitable increase in council tax coming next year - despite Labour promising to freeze council tax if it got into government. Hounslow Council needs to urgently give more details on how it plans to address the remaining budget shortfall and explain what has changed since it proudly declared just five months ago that it had achieved a balanced budget.”
You can watch the Cabinet Meeting live on Tuesday 3 September at 7pm.
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