At its meeting on 8 January 2020 the Executive Committee considered Council Tax  Reduction Scheme and Council Tax Discounts and RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that:

1.    The default Council Tax Reduction Scheme be ADOPTED to be effective from 1 April 2020 with a minor revision to the national working age regulations to allow for a de minimis tolerance for income changes.

2.    Authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management, in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management, to agree the uprating of the working age regulations incorporated into the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme in line with those announced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

3.    The following Council Tax discounts be ADOPTED to be effective from 1 April 2020:

·         The discount for unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties is 25% for a maximum period of six months.

·         The discount for properties which are vacant and require major repair work to render them habitable is 25% for a maximum period of 12 months.

·         The discount for unoccupied furnished properties (second home) is zero.

·         An empty homes premium of an additional 100% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years.

·         An empty homes premium of an additional 200% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than five years.

61.16         At its meeting on 8 January 2020, the Executive Committee had considered the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and Council Tax Discounts and recommended to Council that the default Council Tax Reduction Scheme be adopted to be effective from 1 April 2020 with a minor revision to the national working age regulations to allow for a de minimis tolerance for income changes; that authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management, in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management, to agree the uprating of the working age regulations incorporated into the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme in line with those announced by the Department for Work and Pensions; and that the following Council Tax discounts be effective from 1 April 2020:

·         The discount for unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties was 25% for a maximum period of six months.

·         The discount for properties which are vacant and require major repair work to render them habitable is 25% for a maximum period of 12-months.

·         The discount for unoccupied furnished properties (second home) is zero.

·         An empty homes premium of an additional 100% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years.

·         An empty homes premium of an additional 200% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than five years.

61.17         The report which was considered by the Executive Committee had been circulated with the Agenda for the current meeting at Pages No. 106-115.

61.18         The Chair of the Executive Committee proposed the recommendation which was seconded by the Vice-Chair.

61.19         Referring to Page No. 107, a Member welcomed the fact that claimants would not need to be continually reassessed; however, he questioned whether £10 was the maximum allowed or whether there was any flexibility. In response, the Revenues and Benefits Manager explained that the team had explored many options but the recommended way forward would make Tewkesbury Borough consistent across Gloucestershire.

61.20         Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED     1. That the default Council Tax Reduction Scheme be              ADOPTED to be effective from 1 April 2020 with a minor   revision to the national working age regulations to allow for a de minimis tolerance for income changes.

2.   That authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management, in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management, to agree the uprating of the working age regulations incorporated into the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme in line with those announced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

3.   That the following Council Tax discounts be ADOPTED to be effective from 1 April 2020:

·      The discount for unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties is 25% for a maximum period of six months.

·      The discount for properties which are vacant and require major repair work to render them habitable is 25% for a maximum period of 12 months.

·      The discount for unoccupied furnished properties (second home) is zero.

·      An empty homes premium of an additional 100% is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61

To receive an update on the annual review of Council Tax discounts and to make a recommendation to Council.  

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that:

1.    The default Council Tax Reduction Scheme be ADOPTED to be effective from 1 April 2020 with a minor revision to the national working age regulations to allow for a de minimis tolerance for income changes.

2.    Authority be delegated to the Head of Finance and Asset Management, in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance and Asset Management, to agree the uprating of the working age regulations incorporated into the local Council Tax Reduction Scheme in line with those announced by the Department for Work and Pensions.

3.    The following Council Tax discounts be ADOPTED to be effective from 1 April 2020:

·         The discount for unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties is 25% for a maximum period of six months.

·         The discount for properties which are vacant and require major repair work to render them habitable is 25% for a maximum period of 12 months.

·         The discount for unoccupied furnished properties (second home) is zero.

·         An empty homes premium of an additional 100% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than two years.

·         An empty homes premium of an additional 200% is levied on properties that have remained unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for more than five years.

71.1           The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 180-189, provided Members with an update on the annual review of Council Tax discounts and sought approval for their adoption effective from 1 April 2020. Members were asked to consider the information provided and make a recommendation to Council.

71.2           The Committee was advised that, in January 2019, Council had approved a local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for the 2019/20 financial year. The scheme had remained the same since 2013/14 and it was agreed that it would be reviewed for the 2020/21 financial year due to the impact of Universal Credit. At its meeting on 4 September 2019, the Executive Committee had given approval for consultation to take place on three options for a new scheme: an income banded scheme; a scheme where all working age claimants paid a percentage of Council Tax; or to remain on the default scheme – the response to the consultation was set out on Pages No. 186-189 but, as only 108 responses had been received, this was not indicative of residents of the Borough and Officers were proposing the Council remained on the default scheme for a further year but with a minor adjustment that, because of the difficulties with Universal Credit meaning entitlement had to be reassessed every four weeks, it was not administratively efficient or understandable by residents to reassess Council Tax reduction that often and accordingly it was proposed that a tolerance be introduced whereby any changes of £10 per week or less in income be disregarded.

71.3           In terms of Council Tax discounts, it was suggested that they be retained as existing except that unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties that were currently discounted at 100% for one month and 25% for five months be changed to 25% for the whole six months; and the additional power of increasing the levy charge to 200% for properties that have been unoccupied and unfurnished for over five years be introduced. The Revenues and Benefits Manager explained that the initial discount of 100% in respect of unoccupied and substantially unfurnished properties caused a lot of landlord and tenant disputes which, in turn, took up a lot of officer time which could be freed up to enable them to deal with other value added tasks such as the recovery of Council Tax arrears. In terms of the 200% levy on properties unoccupied and unfurnished for over five years, this would be an additional income to the Council of approximately £4,000 but, moreover, would support the Council’s strategy to bring empty properties back into use.

71.4           Accordingly, it was