York Council set to change entitlement rules for Council Tax support

But how to pay for a fairer system beats most residents and the media

In 2014 the government forced the York Council to take responsibility for setting up a support scheme for residents who were unable to pay the full amount of Council Tax. The then Labour Controlled Council set the level of support at 70% of the amount due. Around 7000 residents were hit by the change, with some as much as £700 a year worse off.

Many, who were otherwise living on benefits, had an extra £5 a week to find. Many were forced into debt with mounting arrears.

The 70% level was one of the harshest set in the country. Most Councils expected poor residents only to pay between 10% and 20% of their Council Tax bill. The new Council decided to consult on whether the threshold should be raised and, if so, how the loss of income for the Council could be offset.

A survey of residents received only 453 replies (there are 87,000 homes in the City) but a majority (69%) said that a higher level of rebate should be implemented.

Advice agencies in the City are recommending a level of 83% which would mean that the Council would need to find savings – or additional income – of around £487,000 pa to fund the deficit.

That is the equivalent of a Council Tax increase of just over 0.6% for everyone in the City.

Where would the money come from?

The Council has been criticised in the past for not publishing the full results of its consultations. In the summer, a consultation on the devolution proposals disappeared without trace.

This time analysis of responses bordered on overkill

Consultation response

The open ended question about paying for the change has produced a revealing set of reactions from residents. They tend to confirm what most would expect. The average person in the street simply doesn’t know what money raising powers the Council actually has.

Putting up Council Tax.

In so far as there was a majority for any option, around 30% said that they would put up Council Tax to compensate. Yet for over 25 years successive national governments have capped increases in Council Tax. The Chancellor announced a few days ago that Councils would be permitted to increase charges by 2% – but this was specifically to pay for escalating elderly care charges. This is the option apparently favoured by the York Press.

Hit public enemies

These suggestions included new charges which are not legally possible at present. Targets would include a Tourist Tax, student landlord tax, reducing Councillors perks, surcharges on homes worth more than £500,000, 20 mph signs, reduced management salaries and getting rid of the office of Lord Mayor.

Enlightened self interest

In the main these were from respondents who lived in, or near, the City centre. They saw the money coming from increased car parking charges (although the last increase actually resulted in a reduction in Council income), from charging for green bin emptying (many residents in the City centre don’t have garden waste) and various forms of congestion charge (including the introduction of a toll on Lendal Bridge!).

In reality the Council missed a trick by failing to ask residents whether they would pay a 1% increase in Council Tax to offset any change.

Spending review – how it may affect York

Policing

There will be no cuts to government funding for the Police. North Yorkshire police however already employ fewer officers than they have budget for, so we hope those vacancies will be filled quickly now. What is less clear is what impact the Chancellors statement, that Police Commissioners would have flexibility to raise the police precept, will have locally.

Tax Credits

The Chancellor has scrapped plans to reduce working tax credits. The move has been welcomed by Local LibDem Cllr Sue Hunter

Jobs & housing

The York central site has been awarded “Enterprise Zone” status. This means all business rates growth generated by the Zone, will be kept by the relevant local enterprise partnership and local authorities for 25 years to reinvest in local economic growth. However, there are fewer planning controls in these Zones. The York Central site is expected to provide 2000 new homes and around 80,000 sq m of office space.

£50 million will be invested in the agri-tech centre at Sandhutton

Elderly care

The Chancellor has said that Council can increase Council Tax by 2% “to help pay for increasing elderly care costs”. This means that the Tories have abandoned their policy of freezing Council Tax. However, income for Council Tax is not hypothecated to individual services, so it remains to be seen whether the government will condition this power by ring-fencing social care expenditure.

The spending statement indicates that there will be increased funding available for the NHS and for Mental Health

Pensions

Basic state pension to rise by £3.35 next year to £119.30 a week

Schools

The statement says that big regional variations in grants to schools would be removed. Historically York schools have been more poorly funded than those in other areas.

Transport

The Chancellor has promised major capital investment including HS2 and electrification of the Trans-Pennine route.

However the revenue budget has seen major cuts so there is likely to be less for public transport subsidies and maybe road repairs.

Council Tax

As well as the proposed 2% increase this year, the proposals imply that York will retain more of its Business Rates (it has always been a net contributor to the national pool) but will continue to see reductions in government support grant.

The way that the York Councils budget has been funded has changed a lot over recent years.

York Council reveals housing benefit payments for “exempt” properties

D4NT09 Council Tax bill 2013/2014 for property dwelling band F with 25% discount for sole adult resident

The York Council has received 88 claims for housing benefits from people living in “exempt” properties in The City.

In total over £102,879 has been paid out so far this year.

Housing benefit payments for exempt property peaked at £181,760 in 2013

Properties can be exempted from Council Tax liability for a number of reasons.

In York many are occupied by students

A full list of possible exemptions is:
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Have your say on Council Tax Support consultation – Acomb Library 17th November

City of York Council is inviting residents to have their say on changes to its Council Tax Support Scheme.

Any change would remedy the unfairness of the last Labour Council which imposed a system which hit hardest the lowest paid members of society. They were told to pay several hundreds of pounds which many simply didn’t have. Labour had hoped that the government would be blamed for the cynical ploy. Instead electors kicked out the Labour leadership at May’s Council poll.

The consultation takes place from: Monday 2 to Sunday 29 November 2015 and asks whether the council should consider providing more assistance to residents by increasing the maximum 70 per cent discount they can receive.

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To complete the consultation visit www.york.gov.uk/consultation . Drop-in sessions are also taking place on:

•Wednesday 4 November West Offices, Station Rise, 2.30 – 7.30pm

• Thursday 12 November Burton Stone Community Centre 2.30 – 7.30pm

• Monday 16 November Haxby Explore 2.30 – 7.00pm

• Tuesday 17 November Acomb Explore 2.30 – 7.30pm

• Monday 23 November Tang Hall Explore 2.30 –7.30pm

• Tuesday 24 November Copmanthorpe Library 2.30–6.30pm

• Thursday 26 November Fulford Explore 2.30 – 5pm

A review of the York Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme was taken to Executive on Thursday 29 November, which saw members agree to progress with a consultation.

At the meeting, Executive were presented with a report which outlined what existing financial support was available to residents, the number of people seeking support and what further steps could be taken to support York’s most financially vulnerable residents in the short term but also in a sustainable way going forward.

City of York Council’s CTS scheme has been in place since April 2013 and is intended to provide low income and vulnerable council tax payers with financial help towards meeting their council tax liability.

Since April 2013, the maximum amount of Council Tax support or discount available to working age households in York is 70 per cent, which means every working age household is required to pay at least 30 per cent of their council tax bill regardless of their income or family circumstances.

The council is now considering whether to change the current 30 per cent cap and is asking residents to have their say, which could result in changes being implemented as soon as next year subject to Full Council approval.
Currently there are 5,096 working age residents who qualify for CTS – who are typically reliant on welfare benefits for their income because of illness, disability or unemployment, receive tax credits, are lone parents or who are in low paid work.

Residents who are state pension age and qualify on the basis of their income will continue to have support based on 100 per cent of their Council Tax liability and are not affected by this consultation.
Full details of the scheme can be found on the council’s website. www.york.gov.uk/counciltaxsupport

The council’s YFAS (Financial Assistance) scheme was only introduced in 2013 (the same time as CTS) and provides emergency financial support in a crisis but also support for qualifying residents with their council tax. This was initially grant funded by the Department of Work and Pensions, which then withdrew funding from April 2015.

The council has continued to commit a base budget of over £500k to the scheme, with additional funding for two years, to ensure the impact of withdrawal of the specific grant was not felt by YFAS residents.
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York Council Tax arrears hit £5.9 million

At the end of March 2015, the York Council was owed £5,968,577 in Council Tax arrears.

This was up from the £5,314,296 recorded at the end of 2010/11.

A total of 14,383 residents were in arrears.

292 residents owed more than £3000, while 6 residents owed more than £10,000.

In 2011 the latter figure had been zero.

7535 liability orders were issued last year and bailiffs dealt with 3637 cases.

The Council wrote off over £370,000 in Council Tax debts last year.

More detailed figures can be read by clicking here

York council tax single person discount – fraud checks starting

The authority is carrying out a review of its single occupancy customer database to ensure that it is up-to-date. The council will also carry out a residency check to find out who may no longer be eligible for discount.

Ian Floyd, the council’s director of Resources, said: “We know that most people claim council tax discounts legitimately, but there are occasions when people’s circumstances change and they forget to tell us that their discount should be cancelled.

“The authority has a legal and social responsibility to ensure that everyone in York gets value for money and to ensure that only those people who are eligible receive the discount.”

More information on the single persons discount review can be found on the council’s website at: www.york.gov.uk/SPDreview. People can also cancel their discount online.

Householders who receive a single person’s discount review form can also contact the review team by ringing 01904 820900.

York Council falls down league tables

A freedom of Information response has confirmed what many residents suspected. They are paying higher taxes than they would in many other City’s, and less is being invested in public services than 5 years ago.

Despite claims to the contrary, government grants to the city – relative to other unitary authorities – have been stable for 5 years..,

The main change is in Council Tax levels. When Labour took office in 2011 York had the second lowest Council Tax level in the country.

The Council now only ranks 14th lowest.

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New figures paint different picture of York Council finances.

With the final budget of the present York Council now being implemented, it is possible to get an accurate picture of how its financial position has changed since 2011.

A response to a Freedom of Information request reveals that taken together government grant income and Business Rates income has fallen by an average of 2% a year.

This is very different from the headline grapping 47% cut figure being peddled by the Labour Leadership.

After taking Council Tax income into account, the actual reduction in expenditure on public services in the City over the last 5 years has been 3.5%.

The expenditure per head of population (probably the best measure of a Councils efficiency) has fallen from £626.39 in 2011/12 (the last budget set by the outgoing LibDem administration) to £585.41 in the latest Labour budget.

This is a 6.5% fall over 5 years.

Of course the figure disguises where investment was prioritised. Hence the ongoing criticism of Labour’s vanity project obsession – such as digital media centres, arts barges – not to mention huge amounts wasted on aborted projects like the Lendal bridge trial and the elderly care village)

Next week we’ll look at York’s relative performance when compared with other Local Authorities and the – much criticised – borrowing polices of the Council.

2015/16 Budget bills sent to all households by York Council

Following approval by City of York Council’s Full Council to set its Budget for 2015/16, the authority is now issuing council tax information to over 86,000 households in the city with details of their new payments for the year from April.

Council tax payers can also sign up to receive their council tax bills by email. The fast, free, environmentally-friendly and secure service is available online at www.york.gov.uk in the Do it Online area. The service gives them instant and 24/7 access to their bill and they will be sent an email notification when their new bill is ready.

The Council has for the first time in 4 years accepted a government subsidy which means that Council Tax bills have been frozen

To sign up for e-billing, all residents have to do is have their last council tax bill to hand and go to the council’s website:

Scroll to Do it Online
Select Apply for it
Scroll to Council Tax
Select Council Tax e-billing – then follow the instructions from there.

As soon as their bill is available they will be sent an email notification and will be able to view their account securely online at any time and download and print the bill if needed. Each person named on the bill can arrange to receive their own e-copy.

City of York Council has a net revenue budget of £119.6million, funded by Council tax income of £72.8million, government grant of £21.0million, Retained Business Rates of £24.1million. A one off income of £1.8million has also been identified from a surplus Collection fund of Council Tax and council reserves.

The budget – voted through by Labour with Green party support – includes highly controversial proposals such as the introduction a £35 pa charge for emptying (all) green bins, a reduction in grey bin emptying frequency to once every 3 or 4 weeks and an end to support for local Community Centres.

The price that Green Councillors secured in return for their votes was a 10p per hour increase in car parking charges.

York has the 14th lowest band D council tax, the 3rd lowest spend per head of population of any unitary council in England and the 8th lowest government funding per head in the country.

Government grant settlement for York Council announced.

Council Tax levels set to be frozen

The York Council has fared relatively well in the grant settlement announced today.

The Councils “spending power” will fall by only 0.1% against a national average of 1.8%.

The “spending power” figure combines regular central government funding with one-off grants and things like Council Tax, a proportion of business rates and other fees and charges.

The government has also confirmed that it will underwrite the costs of freezing Council Tax levels. The new Labour leadership have promised to accept the offer of support unlike their predecessors who hiked up Council Tax rates unnecessarily.