Decision details

1.To seek a review of Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) for 2018/19; approve recommendations for CTRS 2019/20; and to provide updated Council Tax Base 2019/20 for approval

2. The Government has provided Councils with the extra flexibility to increase bills to incentivise owners to bring long standing empty homes back into use.

The decision is on whether to charge an additional premium if the legislation is passed from April 2019.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Resources which provided details of the review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2018/19 and the proposals for no change to be made to 2019/20 Scheme for working age claimants; proposals to increase to the long term empty homes premium from 50% to 100% following the outcome of the consultation; and details of the updated Council Tax Base for Sefton Council and each Parish area for 2019/20.

Decision Made That

(1)       thecontents ofthe CouncilTax ReductionScheme 2018/19 review be noted;

(2)       the Council be recommended to make no changes to the existing Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 for working age claimants;

(3)       the outcome of the consultation and equality impact assessment on the proposal to increase the long-term empty homes premium as set out in Annex B be noted,

(4)       the Council be recommended to approve an increase to the long-term empty homes premium from 50% to 100% from 1 April 2019, as indicated in section 5.7 of the report; and

(5)       the Council be recommended to approve the relevant 2019/20 Council Tax Base for Sefton Council and each Parish Area as set out in Annex A of the report.

Reasons for Decision:

CouncilTax ReductionScheme

Each financial year the Council must consider whether to revise or replace its Local

Council Tax Reduction Scheme. The Council must approve and adopt the 2019/20 Council Tax Reduction scheme by 11 March 2019.  Note - the deadline has been moved from 31 January to 11 March.  This has been delivered through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2017.

The report comments on the impact of various changes made to the scheme for the current year 2018/19 together with the impact of the Government Welfare Reform changes. After consideration of the factors outlined in the report it is proposed that the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2019/20 remains unchanged for working age claimants.

Long-term empty homes premium

Increasing the long-term empty homes premium is intended to encourage owners of homes that have been empty for more than two years to bring them back into use. Any additional income raised from the premium will help support the provision of Council services.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Council Tax Reduction Scheme

TheCouncil revisedits localCouncil Tax ReductionScheme in2018/19 followinga consultation process. The changes were introduced in April 2018 and continue to be monitored to fully assess the impact. A longer period is needed to fully evaluate the impact of the changes and to allow a period of stability for residents claiming Council Tax Reduction. As aresult, noalternative optionsfor change have been considered for2019/20.

Empty Homes Premium

The Council could choose not to increase the long-term empty homes premium; however, this would not provide any additional incentive for owners of long-term empty homes to bring them back into use.