Fresh row over Northumberland County Council council tax support

In 2019, the local authority reduced the maximum level of relief on council tax for working-age claimants from 100% to 92% – and have faced calls on an annual basis to reinstate the higher rate of support ever since.

While Labour councillors called on the council to restore the full level of support, Conservative members and senior council officers explained that other support set to be offered would go further than that.

Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of the full council, deputy leader Richard Wearmouth said: “This scheme is one of the most generous in the North East. This is a significant amount of the council budget that we spend on this activity, supporting people who need our help the most.”

Coun Wearmouth also acknowledged that families would be facing extra pressures due to the rising cost of living, but outlined a number of support schemes on a national level in place to help families.

Labour councillor Elizabeth Dunn argued: “In previous years I’ve argued and advocated for the council tax support scheme to be put back to its original level of 100%

“This council needs to be lobbying central Government for funding. We can’t rely on one-off energy funds which may or may not be there next time.

“In the current cost of living crisis we need to be supporting all our residents, even if it was a temporary measure to get people through this year. Ninety-two per cent is not enough.

“We need this support. Our people need more than the 92% support scheme.”

The council’s head of finance, Jan Willis, explained how the council would support vulnerable residents in other ways.

She said: “We would look to continue the hardship scheme that we introduced this year, which actually benefited not only the person with eight per cent but also helped significantly more numbers of low income households below that threshold.

“We have 15,000 working age claimants and the hardship scheme helped all of those – but not the whole 15,000 would be assisted if we changed the 92% to 100%. The hardship scheme was wider in its scale and cost roughly double what moving to a 100% scheme would cost.”

Ms Willis’ remarks led to Tory councillor Nick Oliver accuse the Labour group of “political point scoring”, and added: “You’re advocating supporting fewer people with less generous support.”

Labour member Julie Foster then questioned: “Why can’t we have both? We’ve had Covid hit hard, we’ve got the energy bills trough the roof – even those on decent wages are struggling.

“For me, it’s giving as much help as we can.”

Coun David Ferguson acknowledged that there was “so much hardship going on” but added: “If we have to find an extra £1.3million, it all comes at a cost.

“Ninety-two per cent is a massive amount of council tax. Unless we can say where that money is going to come from we’re just going to push more people into poverty.”

The proposals were voted through by Conservative members, with Labour councillors abstaining over fears if the plans were defeated there could be no scheme at all. The council’s two Green members voted against the plan.