Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee notes and supports the work undertaken to maximise collections of Council Tax, maximise the take-up of discounts and reductions, and help those who struggle to pay;

(b)       That the Committee notes and supports the circumstances where, in line with Cabinet policies, s13a discretionary discounts are already awarded and the limited circumstances and funds to waive or reduce Council Tax;

(c)       That the Committee endorses the exceptional circumstances where write offs are undertaken and which result in losses of income to fund public services; and

(d)       That Cabinet review and produce a comprehensive policy on s13a discretionary discounts, taking into account the comments raised and to consult with Overview & Scrutiny, scheduling a report back to this Committee at a future date.

The Revenues & Procurement Manager presented the report on the current policy criteria and circumstances (with statistical analysis) where the Council already applied discretionary discounts or wrote off Council Tax amounts, following a request by Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson.  The Corporate Debt Recovery Policy framework adopted in 2019 included proportionate measures to support those in need and was underpinned by effective income management processes which were critical to the delivery of overall Council objectives due to the impact of uncollected Council Tax on the wider budget and future Council Tax rises.  As a point of accuracy on the analysis of write-offs, it was clarified that debts remitted by the Magistrates Court during committal legal action in 2022/23 totalled £26,543 with £35,668 being the total for individual voluntary arrangements.

In addition to statutory legislation, Section 13A discretionary powers offered flexibility for councils to introduce local discount schemes in exceptional cases.  Other than the Local Authority Foster Carers Council Tax Discount scheme, the policy in Flintshire was to exercise its S13A powers where other Council Tax exemptions/discounts had been exhausted and only in cases of natural disasters and civil emergencies.

Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson raised concerns that whilst residents were signposted to appropriate support, the wording in the current policy on discretionary discounts was too broad and did not include clear guidance.  He suggested that this Committee and Cabinet consider the publication of clear policy guidance to assist residents and give an indication of the levels of discount that could be expected from the delegated decision-maker, to show transparency.

In addition, he said there may be a small number of insolvency cases with the Council as the sole creditor and that those individuals were potentially amongst the most vulnerable residents and were likely to apply for a Debt Relief Order (DRO) which was subject to an administration fee.  As an alternative approach, he suggested that agreement could be reached with those individuals to pay a portion of the cost of that fee to the Council with the balance of the debt written off via a S13A request.  This would result in the Council recovering an additional small amount and would reduce costs for partner organisations in progressing the DRO, therefore reducing the financial burden on the taxpayer.

On that basis, he proposed that Cabinet review and produce a comprehensive policy on s13A taking on board the comments raised here and to consult on that policy with Overview & Scrutiny.

The Revenues & Procurement Manager supported the proposal for greater clarity on the policy criteria for discretionary discounts.  In response to the second suggestion, he said that recent analysis of a sample of DRO applications for Council Tax had identified none where the Council was the sole creditor.  He went on to respond to questions on Flintshire’s support for care leavers which had since become a statutory discount scheme in Wales and the Council’s responsibilities as the billing authority collecting precepts on behalf of others.

The Chief Officer (Governance) supported the proposal for officers to develop a clearer policy.  On the second suggestion, he referred to the data on DROs and the benefit to those individuals but pointed out the need for a cautious approach linked with the statutory DRO scheme.

Councillor Paul Johnson also spoke in favour of the policy guidance as did Councillor Sam Swash.

Following a question from Councillor Allan Marshall, the Revenues & Procurement Manager advised that although there was legal provision for a prompt payment discount, he was not aware of any council offering that incentive.  In response to the comments raised, he cited examples of criteria where discretionary discounts could be applied.

The proposal for a clearer policy was welcomed by the Chairman who sought views on the next stage.  Due to the time required to develop detailed guidance, it was agreed that the proposal put forward by Councillor Ibbotson would enable Cabinet to review the matter first, prior to a detailed report back to this Committee at a future date.

On that basis, the recommendations were moved and seconded by Councillors Ibbotson and Swash.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes and supports the work undertaken to maximise collections of Council Tax, maximise the take-up of discounts and reductions, and help those who struggle to pay;

(b)       That the Committee notes and supports the circumstances where, in line with Cabinet policies, s13a discretionary discounts are already awarded and the limited circumstances and funds to waive or reduce Council Tax;

(c)       That the Committee endorses the exceptional circumstances where write offs are undertaken and which result in losses of income to fund public services; and

(d)       That Cabinet review and produce a comprehensive policy on s13a discretionary discounts, taking into account the comments raised and to consult with Overview & Scrutiny, scheduling a report back to this Committee at a future date.