Budget cuts planned for next year mean some of the poorest residents in Bristol could have to pay more in council tax. Over 22,000 working-age households currently qualify for Council Tax Reduction, but City Hall chiefs want to cut £3 million from this scheme.
Bristol City Council will consult the public over the summer on the cuts. Options include maintaining the current levels of support, reducing the help available with means testing, and introducing a banded scheme providing different levels of support depending on incomes.
A consultation begins in July looking at how the scheme could change from next April. This year the scheme will cost £43.4 million, which covers the council tax bills of 32,700 households, including 22,700 of working age. The proposals in the consultation would only impact those of working age, and not the 10,000 old enough to receive a pension.
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Bristol is one of the last remaining councils in England to still provide a fully funded Council Tax Reduction Scheme. Up to 100 per cent of a household’s council tax bill can be paid for, with three quarters of eligible low-income homes having their bills paid in full. The cabinet will formally approve the consultation options during a meeting on Tuesday, July 4.
Ahead of the meeting, Labour Councillor Craig Cheney, deputy mayor and cabinet member for finance, said: “Our Council Tax Reduction Scheme has been one of the central planks of our commitment to support low-income households throughout the mayor’s administration. During that period, we’ve delivered over £325 million of support, which has helped families through difficult financial times, including the national cost of living crisis.
“This summer’s consultation will put forward options for next year’s scheme and will provide residents with the opportunity to shape final proposals for the full council to decide upon in December. While we continue to prioritise support for low-income families, like recently securing £8 million through the Household Support Fund, we do so against a financial backdrop that’s proving increasingly challenging for local government across the country.”
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Bristol mayor Marvin Rees added: “My Labour administration has protected Bristol’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme, despite national austerity, giving £325 million support to low-income households.”
However, Green Cllr Carla Denyer said Labour had proposed cutting the scheme in 2017, but backed down after campaigns and pressure from the Greens and the community union Acorn. She added that any future cuts could 'make people homeless'.
Writing on Twitter, she said: “Incredible that the mayor of Bristol has the chutzpah to again claim credit for protecting the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. He tried to cut it once in 2017 — we forced a U-turn — he hinted at cutting it again in 2018, and his own budget includes a £3 million cut to it this year. Of all the cuts, this must be one of the cruellest. It affects the very poorest households the most, and will likely make people homeless.
“I wonder how many more times Bristol will have to loop through this cycle of: Labour proposes to cut the Council Tax Reduction Scheme; Labour is talked out of it; Labour claiming credit for saving it. Hint — the next local elections in Bristol are in May 2024.”
