Isle of Wight residents struggling to pay their council tax bill will have to pay an additional 5% from April as the Council cuts the subsidy it offers.
Instead of the 70% discount offered by the Isle of Wight Council under the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme (LCTRS), in 2021/22 the council will only offer 65%.
The council has already signalled next year could see a significant tax increase for all residents with a 5% increase expected, alongside a 7.5% increase to the Police precept and additional rises for individual town and parish councils. Those who rely on the council tax support scheme will also have to fork out an additional 5%.
Wednesday’s full meeting of the Isle of Wight Council agreed the cut to 65% in an effort to save £336,000.
Before the changes to the LCTRS were approved, councillors made passionate pleas not to reduce the support.
Councillor Andrew Garratt proposed to keep the support at 70%. He said:
“It is not a time to move a scheme that would hit those that have been hardest hit even harder, that is not fair. Some would describe it as cruel.
“I am sure none of the members of the council would want to intentionally and deliberately be that but acceptance of this recommendation would be just that.”
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Cllr Garratt appealed to the majority Conservative councillors, saying they would not be doing a disservice to their party by supporting him but they would do a tremendous disservice to those in need if they did not approve his motion.
Cllr Paul Fuller, said those on LCTRS are usually working but living day to day and it was unfair savings are trying to be found from people who can ill afford to lose support.
Cllr Geoff Brodie said he thought it was hypocritical the council had approved a pay policy which pays senior managers over 6 figures yet they are prepared to penalise people a few pounds when that money is important to be able to feed themselves.
Cabinet member for the Covid recovery and strategic finance, Cllr Stuart Hutchinson, said reducing the scheme was one of the most difficult decisions the council has to take. He said:
“We are already seeing a substantial increase in the number of claims for support and if we are not able to put more money into the system then what we have to do is to spread the butter more thinly.
“We still have of course a very substantial hardship fund so those who are in true need can still be protected.”
Cllr Garratt’s amendment fell, with 17 only votes in favour compared to 20 against and 2 abstentions.
An exceptional hardship fund is available for those who need help from the council (more information can be found here www.iow.gov.uk/Council/OtherServices/Local-Council-Tax-Support-Entitlement/Exceptional-Hardship-Fund), but councillors worried the bar was set too high.
Figures, provided by Cllr Garratt, showed out of the £160,000 fund the council has, only £34,865 was given out, with 88 of 167 applications approved last year.
When the local council tax support scheme was introduced in April 2013, authorities received funding from government to replace the money lost from the lack of income. Since then, that funding has significantly reduced, effectively cut by £6.4 million, and in the coming financial year 2021/22 it is expected a funding gap of £3.23 million will be left.
It is also expected more people will join the LCTRS as the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt.
Cllr Brian Tyndall, cabinet member for corporate resources, said while it is was a balancing act supplying services to all residents without hurting others — the changes to the scheme will also change the way universal credit affects those on LCTRS.
The LCTRS changes were passed with 21 votes for, 16 against with 1 abstention.
and this is from the council who keep telling us they care for us.
Classic case of one rule for them and one rule for everyone else.
Quite perplexing, how with thousands more homes, and endless cut backs, so, more income, with less expenditure, that this useless, greedy vermin can then demand even more money from us all.
They badly need to be removed from their lucrative positions, as they have failed us badly, and they are too ‘involved’ with the large scale developers here now, to ever be trusted where building permission is granted so easily to ‘some’.
What’s up Dave planning another pay rise for yourself and the other money grabbing councillors at the expense of Island tax payers AGAIN you are a disgrace
Vote them OUT.
So you keep saying. So are you going to put yourself forward? No! I thought not!
Who are you?
Why dont they take a pay cut on there 6 figure wage packets? Useless t**ts do not deserve the wages they get at all. Vote them out the scum bags shouldn’t be in office.
IWCC….cut,cut, cut… I do believe though they gave themselves a pay rise a few months back.
Caring? they wouldn’t know the meaning of the word.
I just hope at the next elections the opposing parties have the sense to unit and fight as one against our present shower.
Absolutely disgusting to penalise people already struggling and living on the breadline. They should be ashamed of themselves. Other councils elsewhere in the UK are certainly not adopting this approach.
How can this be so when we have so many extra homes built here recently, all paying ever more thousands each year to this useless, self serving greedy council?
They are getting FAR more money, for providing less. They have saved millions by closing schools, public toilets, libraries, and other public buildings.
They cut verges, hedges, footpaths far far less than before.
They have limited bin collection to the minimum, and added charges for businesses using the tip, despite re-cycling and selling such.
So, they ‘gain’ ever more, cut their services, and STILL increase council tax.
ALL should have to pay towards such now, to limit the increase, as otherwise those who are often the most ‘costly’ to society in vandalisim, having the most children, so costing the most for education and treating such, are those who pay in NOTHING, so they cost us the most and pay zero, so could not care less about any c.tax increase, as it just means they ‘save’ more.
With the mass building to take place, the council will gain many thousands of thousands extra, yet still charge us all more and more, for less and less.
IF that is not reason enough to force the masses to vote them OUT next time, then God help us.
The largest parasites ever to ruin this Island.
I totally agree with you
More toxic tory tactics.
So if you cannot afford to pay it, you have to pay more? Did I get that right??
Yet again the poorest, elderly, and disabled are hit hard to fund the beaurocrats life style. Such a small saving, but a massive chunk to those who lose out! Do we eat less, heat our homes less, or not pay some of our growing bills!
A saying comes to mind the rich get richer and the poor get poorer DISCUSTING
B Thomas I absolutely agree
and lots of genuinely sick people can’t get granted PIP (dla) yet if become a drug addict or an alcoholic I’m sure you can, oh and most probably a long history of criminal offences to go with it no doubt! But these get helped with everything!
My dad has SMI from stroke and has been paying full council tax for six years. I am still struggling to get them to give a discount even though he is fully entitled to it and I am on the verge of giving up as they keep sliding out of it.really at my wits end
Dont give up. Keep fighting the bastards, that’s what they want is for you to go away.
Don’t pay the extra amount, if everyone did that what can they do? I don’t think the courts will very pleased in the current climate.If people were to stick together and say NO to a lot of tory policies this country wouldn’t be in the awful hopeless mess that it is in now
I hope the councilors can sleep at night in their nice warm beds, they are like the sheriff of Notingham?
Gary they are, and like him, they to find the ‘Peasants revolting’
They need to go asap.
They will sleep well, as they really don’t care, so long as they, and their ilk are doing fine, which they are, and always will be.
At the end of the day, unless they believe that Elvis works down the chip shop, this present council must know that they are on borrowed time, surely. Hence unpopular policy moves like this can be made. Pretty shameful nonetheless at a time of financial distress for many.
Hang on why are the majority of residents paying the full amount of council tax to subsidize a minority of
people who probably don’t want to work, have a dozen kids and smoke like troopers.
At the moment most of these people already get universal credit, in the past if you were short of money you either went with out or got a part time job on top of your main wage to survive there was no extra benefits.
To many snow flakes!!
Here here my family and I had a rented flat 6 of us and our parent’s .No hand outs no discounts no universal credits and we survived because my dad worked hard, and if we didn’t have it tough we cut our coat according to our cloth.
Everyone seems to want something for nothing these days .
I am now 80 years old and just recently retired I am fed up with the council who, as i have said before, stopped the school buses and did not care allowing people to travel to the island when we was,[proudly] in tier 1. Now they are going to put the council tax up. They will certainly not get my vote again
Looks like the crime rate will increase after this!
Many paying 100% of this and every other bill, are struggling, but get no help. The town council put in big rises, with no attempt to make it more affordable. As they all look to build a cosy empire.
With all the Council Tax money WASTED on the constant repair bills for the floating disaster, is it any wonder the purse is empty? Now, we the island residents have to pay for their, the IOW Council’s incompetence. Vote them out in the council elections this year.
Only thing this council cares about is money
Problem we have is most of the councillors are well to do ass holes that dont give a sh#t about people on the breadline! Why do these money grabbers keep getting voted for??
Every one should send to the council a bag of dog shit.