Public views sought on plans to increase council tax

Controversial plans to dramatically raise the amount of council tax that thousands of people on benefits will have to pay are going out to public consultation.

Wolverhampton City Council wants to make 12,000 households pay more towards their rates, with some low-income families on benefits expected to pay £100 a year more.

It comes following national cuts in council tax benefit that left local authorities either having to foot the bill themselves or make working age people on welfare contribute towards it.

The changes landed Sandwell Council in court after it brought in a system to protect support for anyone who had been living in the borough for at least two years, but make new arrivals pay. The plan was to prevent 'benefit tourism' but resulted in a stinging rebuke from a High Court judge who demanded a re-think.

In Wolverhampton, the city council wants to get people's views about plans to cut the assistance given to people on low incomes – known as Council Tax Reduction - by 10 per cent.

Since the original cut came into effect in 2012 the council said the maximum support a low income household would get towards their council tax would be 88 per cent of the total bill.

Now it plans to reduce that support by a further 10 per cent, meaning the new maximum figure for Council Tax Reduction would be 78 per cent of the total bill. That would mean households on low incomes would have to make a larger contribution towards their council tax.

Should the controversial plans go ahead, families on benefits in a band A property would have to pay £220 a year – instead of £120 as it is now.

The proposal would not affect pensioners who get support towards their council tax bills.

Councillor Andrew Johnson, the Labour-run council's cabinet member for resources, said the proposal was being put forward as the local authority continued to face huge cuts in central government funding.

He said: "When the Council Tax Reduction scheme was introduced, we suffered a 10 per cent cut in Government support from the very start. For the last two years we've done our best to protect vulnerable people from this shortfall.

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"With sustained Government cuts continuing and a predicted funding gap of £123 million for services by 2018/2019, we have no choice but to make additional changes to the scheme.

"Before we make any final decisions, we are giving every household in the city the chance to comment on the proposals. This is not a cosmetic exercise, we genuinely want to know what people think. Last year, as a result of feedback, we made changes to our plans – in particular people with savings up to £6,000 were protected from losing their support."

The consultation is open until October 31.

Each household will receive a booklet through the post which explains the proposed changes and contains a questionnaire that can be sent back.

Alternatively, people can complete the confidential survey online via: www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/counciltaxreduction

People can also visit roadshows being organised by the council.

They are at Central Library on September 9 from 9am-1pm, Wednesfield Market on September 16 from 9am-1pm, Bilston Market on September 18 from 9am to 1pm, Wolverhampton Market on September 23 from 9am to 1pm and Tettenhall Library on September 25 from 10am to 1pm.