Agenda item

“RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)       laments the previous Government’s inability to handle public finances, increasing the national deficit year-on-year from 2001 onwards, reaching a total of £43bn prior to the economic crash;

(b)       notes that the previous Government built up a record national deficit, where £1 in every £4 the Government spent was borrowed, leaving the current Government to clean up the mess they had created;

(c)        reminds Members of the commitment of the previous Government to halve the deficit by 2014, by pledging £82bn worth of cuts;

(d)       deplores Her Majesty’s Opposition, who despite making this pledge, have refused to provide any credible plans of how they would have cut the national deficit in Government;

(e)       however, notes the comments of the Leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Chancellor who have refused to commit to reinstate funding for Local Government if elected, and therefore assumes that they will not overturn the proposed cut in Council Tax Benefit;

(f)         recalls the amendment submitted by Councillor Simon Clement-Jones to the July 2012 meeting of Full Council, which called upon the Government to reconsider the policy, and the amendment submitted by Councillor Diana Stimely to the November 2012 meeting of Full Council, which repeated concerns over the policy;

(g)       for the avoidance of doubt, reiterates its concern at the proposal to reduce the grant for Council Tax Benefit by 10% in 2013;

(h)        maintains that, whilst the Government is taking the right steps in reducing the cost of welfare, the reduction in Council Tax Benefit grant is the wrong policy and should be reconsidered;

(i)         however, notes the Government offer of a £1.1 million Transition Fund if Sheffield’s Council Tax Support Scheme meets certain criteria, including a maximum reduction of 8.5%;

(j)         believes that meeting the Government’s criteria would benefit thousands of struggling families and bring another £1 million into the City;

(k)        understands that struggling families could benefit by £11.53 a month by adopting this policy;

(l)         highlights that members of the ruling Group have had months to consider proposals for Council Tax Benefit and the implications of alternative proposals;

(m)      thanks the Coalition Government for giving local authorities more flexibility in raising Council Tax funds from second and empty homes, which is projected to increase income for this Council by £2.5 million next year;

(n)        furthermore, understands that £1 million, allocated to Fairness Commission outcomes, remains unspent;

(o)       believes that if Labour councillors were serious about helping the most vulnerable in the City they would use this fund to mitigate against benefit cuts;

(p)       therefore approves the Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme as set out in Appendix D to this report, to come into force on 1^st April, 2013, with the following three amendments:-

(i)         recommends that £500,000 of the funding earmarked for the Fairness Commission outcomes should be used to secure the Government’s Transition Grant;

(ii)        recommends that the remaining shortfall of £2.2 million in meeting the criteria of the Transition Grant should be funded from increased income from new taxes on second and empty homes; and

(iii)       recommends this decision be reviewed for subsequent financial years only if the Government increases or extends its grant mechanisms for this purpose; and

(q)       notes, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 10.5, the advice of the Director of Finance that the Administration has assumed the £2.2m second and empty homes figure in order to prepare a balanced budget,  and appreciates that if this amendment is passed, a balanced budget will still need to be set by the Council on 1^st March, 2013.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was lost.

The votes on the above amendment were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

For the amendment (20)

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Vickie Priestley)and Councillors Simon Clement Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Robert Murphy, Sylvia Anginotti, Rob Frost, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Diana Stimely, Penny Baker, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Anders Hanson,  David Baker, Katie Condliffe and Alison Brelsford.

Against the amendment

(55)

The Lord Mayor (Councillor John Campbell) and Councillors Julie Dore, John Robson, Jack Scott, Clive Skelton, Roy Munn, Ian Saunders, Helen Mirfin Boukouris, Chris Rosling Josephs, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Mohammad Maroof, Geoff Smith, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate McDonald, George Lindars Hammond, Robert Johnson, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Jenny Armstrong, Terry Fox, Tony Downing, David Barker, Isobel Bowler, Nikki Bond, Sioned Mair Richards, Peter Price, Peter Rippon, Tony Damms, Gill Furniss, Richard Crowther, Philip Wood, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Alf Meade, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Abstained on the

amendment (0)

Nil

(Note: Councillor Robert Murphy voted for paragraphs (g) and (i) to (m) and abstained on the remaining paragraphs of the amendment and asked for this to be recorded.)

It was then moved by Councillor Bryan Lodge, seconded by Councillor Harry Harpham, as an amendment, that the recommendation set out in the report of the Executive Director, Resources now submitted in relation to the Council Tax Support Scheme be replaced by the following resolution:-

“RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)(i)deplores the Government’s shambolic mishandling of welfare reform including the localisation of Council Tax Benefit which will be implemented from April 2013;

(ii)        opposes the Government’s changes to Council Tax Benefit which will see a £5.5 million cut in funding for Council Tax Benefit this year alone;

(iii)       believes that the localisation of Council Tax Benefit has been completely mismanaged by the Government and is the passing of responsibility for cuts to local authorities;

(iv)       regrets that due to a harsher settlement than expected, the Council Tax Support has been cut by nearly £1 million more than expected and the cap proposed in the Cabinet Report of 17^th October 2012 of 80% has had to be lowered to 77% which means that working age recipients will have to pay 23% of their Council Tax Bill;

(v)        understands that this 77% cap means a family living in a band A property will have to pay at least £4.32 per week (£225 per year);

(vi)       welcomes the proposal to operate a hardship fund to help those in severe financial hardship;

(vii)      notes research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which indicates that the working poor will be hit hardest by the cuts to Council Tax Benefit, completely contradicting the Government’s stated aims in its welfare reform programme;

(viii)     further notes research by the Local Government Association warning that the cut is also likely to hit hardest councils in the most deprived areas of the country and authorities in the wealthiest areas of the country will receive a smaller cut;

(ix)       regrets that this mirrors the Government’s unfair policy of giving heavy cuts to Sheffield whilst at the same time some of the wealthier areas of the country are receiving almost no cuts at all;

(x)        further regrets that this is a further example of this Government hitting the most vulnerable the hardest, which is exemplified by cuts to housing benefit, the reassessment of Incapacity Benefit Claimants and cuts to tax credits;

(xi)       regrets that this cut to Council Tax Benefit is the result of a decision made by Government and is in addition to their heavy cuts to the Council’s budget and that, as a result of the £50 million budget gap, and worse to come in future years, the Council could not intervene to prevent this being passed on without further cuts to services which are already being hit extremely hard due to the Government's manifestly unfair cuts; and

(xii)      therefore acknowledges that as this cut has been made by the Government, it is fully within the power of the Deputy Prime Minister to reverse the cut and proposes to write to the Deputy Prime Minister calling on him to intervene to reverse its decision instead of continuing to stand by and allow some of the poorest people in the City to be hit by these changes; and

(b) approves the Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme as set out in Appendix D to this report, to come into force on 1^st April, 2013.”

On being put to the vote, the amendment was carried.

The votes on the above amendment were ordered to be recorded and were as follows:-

For the amendment (55)

The Lord Mayor (Councillor John Campbell) and Councillors Julie Dore, John Robson, Jack Scott, Clive Skelton, Roy Munn, Ian Saunders, Helen Mirfin Boukouris, Chris Rosling Josephs, Bryan Lodge, Denise Fox, Karen McGowan, Jayne Dunn, Jackie Drayton, Ibrar Hussain, Talib Hussain, Mohammad Maroof, Geoff Smith, Mary Lea, Harry Harpham, Mazher Iqbal, Joyce Wright, Steven Wilson, Garry Weatherall, Sheila Constance, Chris Weldon, Alan Law, Steve Jones, Tim Rippon, Cate McDonald, George Lindars Hammond, Robert Johnson, Janet Bragg, Pat Midgley, Jenny Armstrong, Terry Fox, Tony Downing, David Barker, Isobel Bowler, Nikki Bond, Sioned Mair Richards, Peter Price, Peter Rippon, Tony Damms, Gill Furniss, Richard Crowther, Philip Wood, Neale Gibson, Nikki Sharpe, Ben Curran, Adam Hurst, Alf Meade, Jackie Satur, Mick Rooney and Ray Satur.

Against the amendment (19)

The Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Vickie Priestley)and Councillors Simon Clement Jones, Shaffaq Mohammed, Sylvia Anginotti, Rob Frost, Colin Ross, Joe Otten, Keith Hill, Diana Stimely, Penny Baker, Roger Davison, Sue Alston, Andrew Sangar, Denise Reaney, Ian Auckland, Anders Hanson,  David Baker, Katie Condliffe and Alison Brelsford.

Abstained on the amendment (1)

Councillor Robert Murphy

After a right of reply from Councillor Julie Dore, the original Motion, as amended, was put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)(i)    deplores the Government’s shambolic mishandling of welfare reform including the localisation of Council Tax Benefit which will be implemented from April 2013;

(ii)        opposes the Government’s changes to Council Tax Benefit which will see a £5.5 million cut in funding for Council Tax Benefit this year alone;

(iii)       believes that the localisation of Council Tax Benefit has been completely mismanaged by the Government and is the passing of responsibility for cuts to local authorities;

(iv)       regrets that due to a harsher settlement than expected, the Council Tax Support has been cut by nearly £1 million more than expected and the cap proposed in the Cabinet Report of 17^th October 2012 of 80% has had to be lowered to 77% which means that working age recipients will have to pay 23% of their Council Tax Bill;

(v)        understands that this 77% cap means a family living in a band A property will have to pay at least £4.32 per week (£225 per year);

(vi)       welcomes the proposal to operate a hardship fund to help those in severe financial hardship;

(vii)      notes research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies which indicates that the working poor will be hit hardest by the cuts to Council Tax Benefit, completely contradicting the Government’s stated aims in its welfare reform programme;

(viii)     further notes research by the Local Government Association warning that the cut is also likely to hit hardest councils in the most deprived areas of the country and authorities in the wealthiest areas of the country will receive a smaller cut;

(ix)       regrets that this mirrors the Government’s unfair policy of giving heavy cuts to Sheffield whilst at the same time some of the wealthier areas of the country are receiving almost no cuts at all;

(x)        further regrets that this is a further example of this Government hitting the most vulnerable the hardest, which is exemplified by cuts to housing benefit, the reassessment of Incapacity Benefit Claimants and cuts to tax credits;

(xi)       regrets that this cut to Council Tax Benefit is the result of a decision made by Government and is in addition to their heavy cuts to the Council’s budget and that, as a result of the £50 million budget gap, and worse to come in future years, the Council could not intervene to prevent this being passed on without further cuts to services which are already being hit extremely hard due to the Government's manifestly unfair cuts; and

(xii)      therefore acknowledges that as this cut has been made by the Government, it is fully within the power of the Deputy Prime Minister to reverse the cut and proposes to write to the Deputy Prime Minister calling on him to intervene to reverse its decision instead of continuing to stand by and allow some of the poorest people in the City to be hit by these changes; and

(b) approves the Council’s Council Tax Support Scheme as set out in Appendix D to the report of the Executive Director, Resources as now submitted, to come into force on 1^st April, 2013.”