Issue - meetings

To consider a report by Councillor Gwyneth Ellis, Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets (copy enclosed) seeking Cabinet approval of the proposed consultation response to the Welsh Government Consultation on “Fairer Council Tax”.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      approve the proposed consultation response as set out in Appendix 4 to the report, supporting officers’ recommendations on the Expanded proposal and delivered through an incremental approach, and

(b)      the decision be implemented immediately as an urgent decision under Section 7.25 of the Council’s Constitution based on the rationale as set out in paragraph 4.4. to the report.

Councillor Gwyneth Ellis presented the report seeking Cabinet approval of the proposed consultation response to Welsh Government on “Fairer Council Tax”.

Welsh Government (WG) had commenced a consultation on proposed changes to the Council Tax system which aimed to make the distribution of taxes more equitable by reducing Council Tax for those in the lower bands who may struggle to contribute while increasing it for those in higher bands.  Views were sought on three options: (1) Minimal Reform; (2) Modest Reform, and (3) Expanded Reform together with implementation timescales.

The Principal Revenues, Benefits and Contract Manager guided Cabinet through the report detail on the consultation together with the reasoning behind the proposed response and the risk, issues and benefits to the Council and its residents.  Having provided an overview of the three options it was recommended that Cabinet support the Expanded Reform, as it was deemed the fairest form of taxation option within the consultation for residents.  The potential risk to the council through increased reliance on Revenue Support Grant (RSG) funding had been highlighted in the proposed response with a request for WG to provide further assurances on corresponding impacts of RSG.  To ensure that any impacts were fully understood and implemented at a pace that could be managed by the council it was proposed that the incremental approach be supported.  It was also recommended that Cabinet’s decision on the proposed response to the consultation be implemented immediately to ensure submission of the response by the deadline.

Cabinet welcomed the proposed changes to the Council Tax system to make the tax fairer and more progressive and supported the report recommendations and Expanded Reform option which would best benefit Denbighshire residents.  However, the potential removal of £8m from the council tax base as a consequence of moving to the new band structure in the expanded scheme and subsequent reliance on that loss being compensated by the RSG was a cause of some concern and Cabinet highlighted the importance of a fair and proportionate RSG settlement to enable the authority to deliver services for residents.  The Head of Finance and Audit explained the operation of the current system in allocating the RSG based on the ability of local authorities to raise Council Tax and the continuation of that principle going forward but further detail would be required in order to better understand the full implications of that change, hence the assurances being sought from WG in the consultation response.  Councillor Gill German added that it was important for all local authorities to respond to the consultation in order to work together with the Welsh Government to find the best way forward.

RESOLVED that Cabinet –

(a)      approve the proposed consultation response as set out in Appendix 4 to the report, supporting officers’ recommendations on the Expanded proposal and delivered through an incremental approach, and

(b)      the decision be implemented immediately as an urgent decision under Section 7.25 of the Council’s Constitution based on the rationale as set out in paragraph 4.4. to the report.