Tory-run Barnet plans to remove Council Tax discounts

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Finance

Barnet Council has proposed removing exemptions on empty properties and second homes, as a way of covering the costs of the Government's planned 10% reduction in Council Tax support.

The Conservative-run council - which has begun a consultation with its residents on the subject -  has made a number of proposals on how to cope with the changes that will come in after the national Council Tax Benefit scheme is abolished from April 2013.

The Government has told councils that they must replace the national scheme with a local Council Tax Support scheme of their own design.

Along with the removal of exemptions for empty properties and second homes, Barnet Council proposes charging a premium of 50% on properties left empty for longer than two years, as well as requiring working age claimants to pay a minimum contribution to their Council Tax.

Additionally, the council proposes the removal of the second adult rebate for working age claimants, reducing capital limits, limiting the level of support for higher banded properties to Band D or E and a simplification of the system of non-dependant deductions.

At present, claimants with savings and investments of more than £16,000 are not entitled to any Council Tax Benefit. Under the proposed new scheme, this limit could be reduced to £8,000.

Along with the 10% reduction in funds, the Government has also insisted that local Council Tax support schemes must protect pensioners.

Council Tax Benefit helps people on low incomes to pay their Council Tax. In Barnet last year (2011-12) £32.2 million was spent on Council Tax Benefit. Over the past five years, the benefits have risen annually because more people are claiming.

Councillor Daniel Thomas, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, said: “This 10% reduction means all councils will have to make some difficult decisions on how much help people claiming the new Council Tax Support can get.

“We estimate we would need to find £4.4 million to deal with the growth in demand and we are consulting on a variety of different ways to do this.

“We are considering options for a new scheme that are as fair to all members of our community as possible. It is really important that everyone, regardless of whether they currently claim benefit or not, has their say on our proposals before our scheme is finalised.”