Agenda item

This report outlines the proposed options for the delivery of a revised local Council Tax Support scheme with effect from 1 April 2016 and the

requisite public consultation being undertaken.

Members considered a report which outlined the proposed options for the delivery of a revised local Council Tax Support scheme with effect from 1 April 2016 and the requisite public consultation being undertaken.

An update on the latest responses to the consultation was tabled at the meeting.

A Member questioned why empty furnished properties received a council tax discount of 10%. Whilst not part of the review in question officers said this was an issue which could be reviewed.

A discussion took place about the consultation process and methodology and whether it had been designed to ensure responses were representative. Officers advised that a letter had been sent directly to 2,400 current council taxpayers not in receipt of a discount under the Scheme and 600 in receipt of a discount to try and achieve as representative a response as possible. People could also respond to the consultation via the Council’s web site and as a result of flyers and posters displayed at key council venues. Groups which supported vulnerable parts of the community had also been specifically targeted. Some Members argued that this open approach was by definition not representative and proposed that the Citizens Panel should be used to redress this. Officers commented that, as was usual practice, advice had been sought about how to conduct the consultation exercise and whilst the sample of people consulted was representative it was not possible to guarantee that the proportion of respondents was representative. However, so long as the sample size was sufficiently large the findings could be weighted to give a view that was representative of the people of Medway. An undertaking was given by the Assistant Director Communications, Performance and Partnerships and Chief Finance Officer to review the consultation methodology to ensure it was robust and to examine, if there were concerns about representative findings, whether the Citizens Panel could be used as part of the consultation exercise but there would be financial and timing issues to take into account. On the issue of timings a Member made the point that the Panel’s views could still be sought after the consultation ended as long as the results were available before Council took the final decision on the Scheme. Officers emphasised that no conclusions had yet been reached as the consultation is ongoing.

The point was also made by some Members that the way in which the questions had been phrased could easily be interpreted that those in receipt of the discount were somehow responsible for the need to cut services or increase Council Tax. The Chief Finance Officer assured Members this had not been the intention and it was important to make clear what the alternatives to not amending the Scheme were.

A Member expressed disappointment at the fact that whilst there was an opportunity for people responding to the consultation in writing to make general comments or put forward alternative options this was not possible on line. Concern was also expressed that there was no mention of other options such as a reduced contribution from claimants in order to maximise collection levels or not amending the Scheme at all.