Agenda item

To approve the Local Council Tax Support Grant 2021/22.

Approval was sought for the use of local council tax support grant 2021/22. As part of its response to Covid-19 the government announced in May 2021 that it would provide local authorities in England with new grant funding in recognition of the anticipated additional cost of the LCTRS in 2021/22. Sandwell had been allocated funding of £3,586,869 for 2021/22.

Government funding had been provided in 2020/21 however the criteria for its use was more rigid. There was £500,000 remaining from the 2020/21 funding and this had been used to continue to provide support to residents who had been affected by the pandemic and were struggling to pay their Council Tax.

Sandwell’s LCTRS was one of only a few schemes nationally that provided 100% support to the lowest income households and the current cost of the scheme was £30.9m for 2021/22.

Any Local Council Tax Support Grant remaining at the end of 2021/22 could be used towards the cost of Sandwell’s Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Reason for Decision

Each local authority had been issued funding based on national published LCTRS workload data.

The fund would administered by the Revenues and Benefits Service. Full funding would be provided to cover the costs of the grants and a New Burdens funding had also been provided to cover the council’s administration costs.

Alternative Options Considered

The council could use the funding in recognition of the anticipated additional cost of LCTRS in 2021/22 however this approach would not target additional support to residents affected by the pandemic who are struggling to pay their Council Tax

Agreed:-

(1)          that approval be given to the use of the Local Council Tax Support Grant 2021/22 to provide financial support to those Sandwell residents who are struggling to pay their Council Tax;

(2)          that the use of some of the Local Council Tax Support Grant to fund the cost of the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (LCTRS) for 2021/22 be approved.

(3)          that approval be given for the households and hierarchy to be considered for an award as detailed below:-

-       Use the Local Council Tax Support Grant funding to award up to £150 to all working age LCTRS recipients – where they have an annual amount to pay. This could equate to 8,000 households being supported and would cost around £840,000;

-       Council tax support where required to residents based on the hierarchy below:

•        Families in receipt of free school meals

•        Residents affected by the pandemic that are in arrears with their Council Tax who contact us to advise that they are struggling to make payment and for whom a hardship payment will help to reduce or completely pay their council tax for 2021-22

•        Residents affected by the pandemic identified by Revenues and Benefits, Welfare Rights, voluntary sector organisations and/or Citizens Advice Bureau who will benefit from receiving financial support to help to pay their council tax

•        Make an additional award to our working-age LCTRS claimants who have already received a payment if the funding allows. In all such cases only award an amount up to the balance outstanding on the account so as not to cause a credit