The York Council “Cabinet” have agreed a new system of Council Tax benefit which could see some residents paying £5 a week more. There is a wide variance in the extra amounts that people will have to find although pensioners will see no change to their entitlement http://tinyurl.com/York-Tax-losers
Controversially the York Council has once again decided not to accept government subsidies which would have reduced the individual impact that the changes are having. Over £200,000 was made available in transitional grant. The effect of accepting the subsidy would have been to ensure that no one (currently assessed to pay zero) would pay more than 8.5% of their Council Tax liability
It is a similar approach to their refusal of the extra grant that the government have been offering and which would have reduced Council Tax levels by 5% for everyone in the City.
Councils are now free to set their own Council tax support (benefit) systems as part of the governments devolution agenda. The Council continues to receive a grant of over £9 million to help pay for the new support scheme.
In making the change the government set out the clear principles of the welfare reform agenda:
• People should get more overall income in work than out of work;
• People should get more overall income from working more and earning more;
• People should be confident that support will be provided whether they are in work or out of work, and it will be timely and correct.
The Council claims to have consulted on the proposed scheme during the autumn but admits that only 1.55% of residents responded. They did not consult on whether the extra government subsidy offered to the City should be accepted.