Issue - meetings

(Cabinet member responsible: Mr D Dodds)

Cabinet, at its meeting on 5 December 2013, will consider a report on the total amount of council tax reduction scheme grant that will be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15, how the grant amounts for individual town and parish councils will be calculated, and the actual amounts for town and parish councils.

The report of the Head of Finance, which Cabinet will consider on 5 December, was circulated to all councillors with the Cabinet agenda. Please bring this report to the meeting.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to councillors on Friday 6 December.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 5 December 2013, on the total amount of council tax reduction scheme grant to pass down to town and parish councils for 2014/15, how to calculate the  amounts for individual town and parish councils and the actual grant allocations for each town and parish council.

RESOLVED:

1.      that the total council tax reduction scheme grant to be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15 be £212,252;

2.      that the individual amounts for town and parish councils be calculated based on their relative need after considering the negative impact of the council tax reduction scheme on parish taxbases;

3.      that the individual grant amounts for towns and parishes are as set out in Appendix 2 to the report of the Head of Finance to Cabinet on 5 December 2013.

Purpose: to ask Cabinet to recommend to Council the total amount of council tax reduction scheme grant that will be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15, how the grant amounts for individual town and parish councils will be calculated, and the actual amounts for town and parish councils. 

Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Finance that asked Cabinet to recommend to Council the total amount of council tax reduction scheme grant that will be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15, how the amounts for individual town and parish councils will be calculated, and the actual amounts for town and parish councils.

Mr D Turner advised that he had wished to address Cabinet on the matter of advising parish councils about the scheme but that he was now satisfied that the matter was being communicated very clearly.

Taking into account the views of the Scrutiny Committee and those of town and parish councils, Cabinet agreed the recommendations set out in the report to mitigate the impact of the council tax reduction scheme on their taxbases.

RESOLVED: to recommend to Council:

1.      that the total council tax reduction scheme grant to be passed down to town and parish councils for 2014/15 be £212,252;

2.      that the individual amounts for town and parish councils be calculated based on their relative need after considering the negative impact of the council tax reduction scheme on parish taxbases;

3.      that the individual grant amounts for towns and parishes are as set out in Appendix 2 to the report of the Head of finance to Cabinet on 5 December 2013.

Report of the Head of Finance (attached)

Purpose: to review the options for distributing the council tax reduction scheme grant to town and parish councils, taking into account feedback from town and parish councils, and make any recommendations to the Cabinet Member for Finance.

The committee considered the report of the Head of Finance setting out the options for distributing the council tax reduction scheme grant to town and parish councils and the feedback from these councils.

Mr W Jacobs, Head of Finance; Mr P Howden, Revenues and Benefits Client Manager; and Mr D Dodds, Cabinet member for Finance, introduced the report and answered questions.

·          The council tax benefit scheme for individual households had been agreed in October 2013.

·          Officer had held two briefings with parish councils to explain the proposals and ask for their views. While there was not a conclusive vote, the debates at both had favoured option 2 in the report as the method of distributing the council tax reduction scheme grant.

·          Cabinet was recommending that Council maintain the principle of passing on the whole of the parishes’ portion of the grant.

·          There was a higher but not significant administrative cost in calculating the grants each year under option 2.

·          The amount of the grant was not certain until the annual settlement was issued, but officers were fairly confident it would not change significantly.

Councillors debated:

·          Whether it would be better to use the grant to reduce the district’s council tax.

·          Whether it was possible to obligate parishes to reduce their precept by the amount of the grant and pass the benefit to residents, rather than treating it as a windfall.

·          The benefits of each option and which provided incentives to build houses.

·          That the parishes’ view as to the preferred option seemed clear.

The committee agreed to recommend that the Cabinet Member for Finance support Option 2 in the report for the distribution of the council tax reduction scheme grant.