Proposed £3million cuts that would force some of Bristol’s poorest residents to pay more council tax are “cruel” and will cause “real harm” including hunger and homelessness, opposition councillors warn. The city council’s Labour cabinet rubber-stamped a range of options to slash support in its Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) at a meeting on Tuesday (July 4), with the plans going out to public consultation later this month.
Deputy mayor Cllr Craig Cheney said he did not want to withdraw the financial help but that cuts would have to be made elsewhere if not, probably in adult and children’s social care. The scheme, which reduces bills for 22,700 working-age households, will cost £43.4million this year.
Budget cuts agreed by full council in February included shaving £3million from it, from April 2024. Bristol is one of the last remaining councils in England that still has a fully funded CTRS, with three-quarters of eligible low-income homes having their bills paid in full.
