Finance, and Performance, and Labour Councillor for Hillfields.
When I was growing up in Bristol, my family was supported by Council Tax Benefit. It was a real lifeline for us.
Since 2016, our Labour administration has protected our Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which replaced the benefit and is one of the last full schemes in the country. This means that up to 100% of a household’s council tax bill can be paid for through the scheme, with 75% of eligible low-income households currently having their bills paid in full.
We have been proud to provide over £325 million of support to families across Bristol since taking office. This achievement has been without the support of other parties locally, and despite more than a decade of national government austerity.
Our Council, like local authorities across the country, including Nottingham, continues to face a challenging financial position after thirteen years of national government austerity. With rising costs and rising demands for services, this has meant – and will continue to mean – difficult choices. And the Chancellor’s recent Autumn Statement only added further pressure, with councils having to wait until Christmas for the Local Government Finance Settlement.
In February, Full Council approved a £3 million saving from the Council Tax Reduction scheme for the upcoming financial year. The Council has since consulted on a number of potential options to deliver that saving, while asking people who want to keep the scheme in its current form to suggest how to do that while balancing the budget.
Opposition councillors did not suggest alternative savings at Full Council, and have not been forthcoming since then in suggesting alternative budget savings. Ultimately, if councillors choose not to have a balanced budget, commissioners appointed by the Tory government will do it for us – with the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, along with the frontline services we’ve protected, first on the chopping block.
While the consultation results show that the majority of respondent would support changes to the scheme, now is not the time. Today, we will publish a paper to come to cabinet next week, recommending that our Council Tax Reduction Scheme continues in its current form.
This is of course welcome news for families, but it does mean that next year’s budget requires another £3 million of savings. There are no easy decisions left, no efficiencies to make, and no fat to trim.
More difficult decisions lie ahead. They cannot be ducked.
It will be incumbent on all councillors to come together and pick from the least-bad options left to balance Bristol’s budget for an eighth consecutive year, including an alternative £3 million of savings with our Council Tax Reduction Scheme staying in place for 2024/25.