Issue - meetings

Background:

This report sought approval of a revised Discretionary Council Tax Relief Policy.

The policy, originally adopted by Cabinet in March 2013, provided additional help with Council Tax, helping to alleviate hardship in the transition from long-term benefit dependence into work.

It was noted that following clarification from the President of the Valuation Tribunal, there was a right of appeal against any decision not to award Council Tax Discretionary Relief. As such, officers were seeking to incorporate the right of appeal to the Valuation Tribunal into the existing policy. It was also explained that after two years in operation, a number of administrative inefficiencies in the operation of the policy had been identified and officers were seeking to streamline the process.

The report included a Diversity Impact Assessment screening form at Appendix 2 to the report. Given that the changes introduced an additional appeal right and were otherwise administrative rather than decision-making there were no concerns that any particular groups would be adversely affected by the changes to this policy. It was noted however, that officers were in the process of completing a new Diversity Impact Assessment for the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which would encompass the Council Tax Discretionary Relief Policy.

Reasons:

The Council Tax Discretionary Relief policy continued to provide assistance to those facing financial hardship as a result of welfare reform changes. However, after two years in operation it was believed that the revised policy would provide a more robust policy for claimants and a more efficient application process for both the claimant and the authority.