Baroness King of Bow – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Communities and Local Government

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness King of Bow on 2014-03-31.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities have increased the minimum payment required under their local Council Tax Reduction Schemes following the withdrawal of transition funding for 2014–15.

Baroness Stowell of Beeston

We do not collect this information centrally. These are local schemes, and it is for local authorities to ensure that the effect on specific groups of council tax payers is proportionate and fair.

The £100 million transition grant was a voluntary grant for the first year only of the new system of local council tax support. We have been clear from the outset that it was intended to give councils time to transition to the new localised regime and realise greater efficiencies such as cutting fraud and error, which cost £230 million in 2012-13.

Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers £4 billion a year – equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration. Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work.