Poorest facing tax rise as benefit cut
Changes to the benefits system will see council tax rises for thousands of low-income households from April.
The Government is to stop fully funding a benefit scheme which supports residents who need help paying their council tax bills and has told local authorities to run their own system.
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Leicester City Council has now approved a scheme, but warned the poorest residents would be hit hard as it will see a 10 per cent cut in the £32 million it gets from the Government to meet the costs.
Council tax benefit is currently claimed by 40,000 people in the city.
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The council said the cut meant it would no longer be able to pay 100 per cent of the council tax of 25,000 claimants of working age.
They will get 80 per cent of the bill paid.
That works out as a weekly rise of about £4.35 for couples living in band B properties, £3.26 for a single person in a band B home.
About 16,000 people will be paying council tax for the first time.
Councillor Sarah Russell, assistant mayor for neighbourhood services, who proposed the new scheme, said: "This is one of the worst things I have ever had to do as a councillor.
"It does not affect pensioners, who are protected in the legislation, but it will hit some of the poorest people in the city who are working but earning a lower income – those who are on other benefits or receiving children's tax credits.
"£4.35 a week might not sound much but some families are already struggling with the rising cost of living.
"We have tried to come up with a system which reduces the impact on people but it has been hard.
"I would have liked to have pulled a rabbit out of the hat but there was no rabbit. There wasn't even a hat."
Other elements of the scheme include changing the amount of savings people can have before they are entitled to benefit.
Currently, the figure is £16,000. That will drop to £6,000.
The council has set £315,000 for a relief fund to help those who cannot afford their bills.
The cash will be issued on a discretionary basis. Coun Russell said all the people affected would be written to.
She said: "What I would say to people is that if they are struggling, they should call us as soon as they can so we can try to help in some way.
"That would usually be through a payment plan."
St Andrew's Tenants' Association chairman Angie Beales, 60, said: "I understand there is a need to save money on benefits but it will hit working families who don't have much money left when all their other costs have gone.
"It is worrying people on the estate and I don't think they properly understand why they will have to pay more."
The county's district councils are also having to devise their own council tax benefit schemes.
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by sansue
Sunday, February 03 2013, 5:05PM
“"Of those surveyed in the poll, 48 per cent agreed that the cuts could cause social unrest and 47 per cent disagreed"
In other shock news the majority of people are found to be mildly selfish, unable to empathize with others, and unable to imagine that they might ever need the services that others rely on.”
by NickDiPerna1
Sunday, February 03 2013, 10:03AM
“Breaking News...
'Sacrifice services and freeze tax, public tells councils'
'Nearly two thirds of voters are willing to see local services suffer in order to prevent a rise in council tax, a poll has found.'
'Of those surveyed in the poll, 48 per cent agreed that the cuts could cause social unrest and 47 per cent disagreed.'
http://tinyurl.com/b3navp4”
by sansue
Friday, February 01 2013, 1:15PM
“And Nick, I seem to remember you "experiences" are based on a few years ago, at least? Apologies if wrong on that.”
by sansue
Friday, February 01 2013, 1:12PM
“"But the typical public servant is a petty administrator and the typical public-sector manager is a narcissist who wonders around the office on a Monday morning telling everyone about their 'amazing' weekend break. I've seen all this with my own eyes, and I will be an authority on my own experiences thank you very much"
I'm guessing you didn't attend a research University, or if you did studied a "discipline" like Sociology? There can be no other reason for you trying to pass off the above as anything than an opinion based on a tiny, no, MINISCULE proportion of public sector workers. And to base such a venom filled generalisation on such flimsy "evidence" is pretty weak, and very unpleasant. Liberals don't display such anger and hatred towards the business sector (indeed we tend to support them, for example by saying that it is the business sector who need to improve their employment practices and T&Cs, rather than weaken the best practice shown by the public sector) so why are you so furious against the public sector?”
by NickDiPerna1
Thursday, January 31 2013, 11:26PM
“And forgot to mention: a parasite class living off the productive is no longer needed. We simply just can't afford it. Go chase the rich, whom you obviously despise, half way round the world instead.”
by NickDiPerna1
Thursday, January 31 2013, 11:25PM
“And forgot to mention: a parasite class living off the productive is no longer needed. We simply just can't afford it. Go chase the rich, whom you obviously despise, half way round the world instead.”
by NickDiPerna1
Thursday, January 31 2013, 11:09PM
“You are clutching at straws in the wind. The bureaucracy you defend is defunct. Morally bankrupt. Do you have no compassion towards the people who do all the lifting in this country to give others a cushy existence? Thanks to the internet (which has done more good than a 100 years of social reform), you no longer have a monopoly on information. Anyone listening to you would think that public services consisted entirely of nurses and other stressful occupations. But the typical public servant is a petty administrator and the typical public-sector manager is a narcissist who wonders around the office on a Monday morning telling everyone about their 'amazing' weekend break. I've seen all this with my own eyes, and I will be an authority on my own experiences thank you very much. And if you are going to launch personal attacks on me, then stop using use fake names. It's so cowardly. It says a lot about your ilk.”
by sansue
Thursday, January 31 2013, 8:32PM
“Ps, you do realise the most councils can raise the council tax rate is 1.99%, which is of course less than inflation. I would happily take a 3-4% increase in my council tax in order to protect the most vulnerable.”
by sansue
Thursday, January 31 2013, 8:30PM
“"Low-earners now face council tax rises due to Government funding cuts, but the council could have decreased the burden in other ways by cutting non-essential services and vanity projects"
You truly haven't a clue have you? The cuts have gone WAY beyond what you suggest; it is now a case of which ESSENTIAL services will get cut.”
by NickDiPerna1
Thursday, January 31 2013, 5:12PM
“I see a disturbing trend developing in Leicester, a growing inequity between private and public sector workers.
A recent TUC report stated that nine in 10 public sector employees enjoy a pension scheme, compared with fewer than half in the private sector. This decreases dramatically for low-paid workers in the private sector who are also more likely to have lower combined employer and employee contribution rates, leading to an inadequate pension pot.
Low-paid workers are more likely to have less holidays, less time off and less privileges than their public sector counterparts. The £7.45 an hour wage guarantee (or Living Wage) for council workers greatly increases this inequity.
Low-earners now face council tax rises due to Government funding cuts, but the council could have decreased the burden in other ways by cutting non-essential services and vanity projects.
The Entitlement State's failure is that no matter how hard you squeeze the rich – it's always the lower middle-class and working poor who end up funding it through regressive taxes. I can see where Leicester City Council's priorities really lie, but a two-tyre community is not the way forward.”