Proposals to reduce benefits in Birmingham have been revised following public consultation – but government cuts to funding still leave the city council with no alternative but to cut support to some of the city’s poorest families.
Councils are being required by government to administer and take up responsibility for council tax benefit as of 1 April 2013; and the funding to councils will be cut by 10 per cent – which means a £11.08million shortfall in Birmingham.
Consultation on a draft Council Tax Support Scheme for Birmingham ran for three months from September, and a report to the council’s Cabinet on January 7 proposes further mitigation in light of extensive feedback from the public.
The revised scheme now includes protection for claimants who are in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and who in addition also receive a qualifying disability premium.
Protection will also be provided for claimants who receive a carers premium. The minimum amount that people who are not in the protected categories will have to pay will now be set at 20 per cent rather than the originally proposed 24 per cent, directly as a result of the consultation feedback.
