Listen back to hear Policy in Practice in conversation with Allan Clark, Barnet Council, to learn how they're changing their council tax support scheme for Universal Credit. We cover how Policy in Practice's comprehensive impact modelling provided the data that Barnet Council's Members needed to agree amended schemes with confidence. Listen back to learn: - How LAs’ CTS schemes have evolved since they were first introduced - What factors Barnet modelled, and why - What schemes Barnet considered, rejected and implemented For more information visit www.policyinpractice.co.uk, email hello@policyinpractice.co.uk or call 0330 088 9242.

1. Policy in Practice
Webinar Council tax support: Models
that Members can sign up to
Wed 20 March 2019

2. Housekeeping
• Audio check
• Please ask questions
• Polls and a survey
• Aim to finish by 11:30

3. A team of
professionals
with extensive
knowledge of the
welfare system
who are
passionate about
making social
policy work
We help local
authorities use
their household
level data to
identify
vulnerable
households,
target support
and track their
interventions
We develop
engaging software
that helps people
to increase their
income, reduce
their costs and
helps them to
build their
financial
resilience

4. Today’s speakers
Zoe Charlesworth
Head of Policy
Policy in Practice
Allan Clark
Revenue and Benefits Manager
Barnet Council
Megan Mclean
Policy and Operations Analyst
Policy in Practice

5. Agenda
• Background to Council Tax Reduction schemes
• Significant issues to consider when changing
• Why Barnet Council wanted to changed its Council Tax Reduction scheme
• How Barnet Council involved their Members in their scheme change
• What we model when looking at CTR schemes, and why

6. 666
Poll: What would your Member's main
objective be if you were changing your
CTR scheme?

8. 888
Over to Zoe

9. Council Tax Support is significant
Findings from IFS: The impacts of localised council tax support schemes,
2019
● Paid to 4.9 million households in 2017–18
– more than any other means tested payment
● It cost LAs £4.1 billion
- 11% of gross council tax bills
● 2.4 million working-age claimants
- £1.8 billion
- average award for those claimants of £770 per year
Source: IFS The impacts of localised council tax support schemes https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/13827

10. Where are we now?
• 90% of English councils made changes to their CTS scheme by 2018– 19:
- almost all of them cuts
- up from 82% in 2013–14
• The most widespread change is the introduction of minimum council tax payments:
- most common level of minimum payment is 20%
- a fifth of councils have no minimum payment
- fifth have minimum payments of over 20%, (highest being 50%)
• In general, minimum payments have increased since 2013-14

11. Where are we now?

12. Where are we now?
Other changes
• Reducing capital limit (104
councils)
• Band caps (105 councils)
• Changing the taper rate (21
councils)
• Changes to non-dependant
deductions (94 councils)
• Protecting vulnerable groups
(113 councils)
• In practice, many LAs have
changed their schemes in
multiple ways

13. Implications for claimants
• Working-age households in England are now eligible for 24% less (£196 a year) on
average
• 1% of their income
• £706 million reduction in entitlements:
• Cuts are now 70% more than in 2013–14
• There are now 1.4 million households who have to pay some council tax who would
not have had to pay
• 63% must pay more than £100
• 33% must pay more than £200
• 10% pay more than £300
• Reducing a household’s CTS entitlement significantly increases the probability that it
reports being in arrears on its council tax
• CAB enquiries increased by 15-20% when minimum payments introduced, mostly
relating to council tax debt

14. Implications for collection / arrears
• A quarter of the additional council tax liability is not collected
• For council tax claimants this is 10 times higher than the 2.5% in 2012–13, before
the cuts to CTS
• The effect on the aggregate rate of non-collection is still relatively modest increasing
it from 2.5% to 2.7% on average
• Arrears twice as likely in those moving from zero payment to those increasing
payment
• previous research showed a jump at 14% and 25%
• Lone parents and renters are more likely than average to fall into council tax arrears
as a result of changes in support

15. Where are we going? Evaluating new scheme types
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2017/18 2018/19
Council Tax models 2017/18 to 2018/19
Amendments to default scheme Income-banded/discount

16. Where are we going? Change in response to UC
• Residents will need to re-assess income as they migrate to Universal Credit so
changes in Council Tax Support can be part of this
• A scheme to go alongside Universal Credit or to support those who are adversely
affected by Universal Credit
• The opportunity to use the Universal Credit assessment of income
• Realisation of the relative cost of administration against awards once Housing
Benefit is removed
• Re-assessments with monthly Universal Credit changes / RTI

17. Universal Credit roadmap
Direct payments to landlord to continue under UC,
if transferring from HB
End of UClive service
DEC2017
No new claims for UClive service after 01/01/18
UCadvances repayment period increases to 12 months
UCadvances increases to 100%of UCaward
JAN 2018
All claims migrated to UC
DEC2023
National Living Wage likely to rise to £8.80 p/hr
Housing benefit to 'run-on' for the first 2 weeks of UC
Payments for temporary accommodation improved
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) becomes a loan
National Living Wage set at £7.83 p/hr for over 25
Personal tax allowance up from £11,500 to £11,850
APRIL 2018
www.policyinpractice.co.uk
UNIVERSAL CREDIT ROADMAP
Details subject to change
Details correct at 20 Feb 2019
FEB2018
7day waiting period for UCabolished
2017
2018
2019
2020
2023
2018
2018
Mixed age couples must make new claims for UC
instead of Pension Credit
MAY2019
JULY2019
Self-employed familiies moving to UCwon’t be affected by
minimum income floor for the first 12 months of their claim.
Managed migration pilot will begin (starts in full end 2019)
2019
2019
2019
End of Full Service roll out
JAN 2019
New UCclaims for households with 2+
children
FEB2019
APRIL2019
NLW will increase to £8.21p/hr for over 25s
Personal tax allowance will increase to £12,500
Higher rate tax threshold will increase to £50,000
UCWork Allowances will increase by £1,000/year.
2019
APRIL 2020

18. Where are we going? Key concerns of Members
• Cost
• administration
• payment
• Impact on collection rates
• Fairness
• Schemes fitting within overarching council objectives
• Supporting the aims of UC or mitigating against loss under UC
• Elections

19. 191919
Poll: How actively involved would your
Members be in your CTR scheme design?

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Over to Allan

22. Council Tax Support Schemes
Allan Clark MSc, FIRRV, MCMI
Revenues and Benefit Manager
London Borough of
Barnet
Our approach to a
revised scheme

24. Drivers for change…
• To tackle the increased administration owing to frequency of UC
notices.
• To provide opportunity for better collection levels by reducing the
monthly rebilling for those on UC.
• To simplify the scheme for officers and citizens.
• To reduce the overall scheme costs.

25. Process, Timeline & Member Engagement
• March 2018 – Full Council approved the Medium Term Financial Strategy which included a £2m
saving on CTRS.
• June 2018 – Policy and Resource Committee considered revised financial position.
• June 2018 to September 2018 – Further savings considered across council.
• August 2018 – Policy in Practice provides 4 CTRS models.
• September 2018 – Revised financial position highlights a required £3.2m savings to be found from
CTRS. PinP asked to provide a further model.
• October 2018 – Urgency Committee asked to consider models and approve consultation.
• October 2018 – Consultation begins.
• December 2018 – PinP asked to provide further modelling following end of consultation.
• December 2018 – Policy and Resources Committee agree proposed scheme and onward referral to
Full Council for approval. They also approve changes to our combined DHP and DCTH Policy.
• January 2019 – Full Council agree revised scheme.

26. Modelling

27. Adopted Scheme – April 2019
• Introduce an income banded scheme, based on earned income.
• Reduce the maximum capital limit to £6,000.
• Two non dependent deductions:
• Income under £200 per week = £5.00 deduction
• Income equal to or over £200 per week = £11.00 deduction
• Introduce a minimum income floor.
• No longer apply a disregard if paying child care costs.

28. Bands and Awards
Income Band
Discount off CT
liability
Earnings threshold
(monthly)
1 72.00% No earnings
2 52.00% <£500
3 44.00% £500.01-£800
4 36.00% £800.01-£1100
5 28.00% £1100.01-£1400
6 20.00% £1400.01-£1700
7 12.00% £1700.01-£2000

29. Questions

30. 303030
Poll: Are you planning to change your CTR
scheme soon?

32. 323232www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Over to Megan

33. Your Housing Benefit /
Council Tax data
Our Benefit and Budgeting
Calculator
Rich, detailed impact
assessment: who is impacted
and by how much
Our approach to data analysis
We use administrative data capturing
detailed information on low income
households
We combine these datasets together
over time, and model policies across
four government departments
combined, to examine the impacts
both now and in the future
CTR support now and in a future
scenario, both under the current
system or under UC

34. 4 approaches to modelling CTR schemes
1. Do nothing
2. Make small tweaks
3. Income-banded schemes
4. Discount schemes

35. 1. Do nothing approach
• Shows council impact if nothing was changed, but the following occur:
• Council Tax Liabilities increase
• National Minimum Wage, Personal Tax Allowance increase
• XX% of households are migrated over to Universal Credit
• Rent prices, benefit rates increase
• “Not doing anything is the most radical thing you can do”

36. 2. Make small tweaks
Model the social and financial
impact of small tweaks,
including:
• Introducing band cap, capital
limit
• Changing max. support, taper
rate
• Reducing/removing non-
dependant deductions
• Introducing Minimum
Income Floor to all self-
employed

37. 3. Income-banded schemes
• Modelling the financial and social implications of
sorting households into set income bands, each
with corresponding discounts
• Building in protection for larger households through
different ways:
• Disregarded earnings or incomes (e.g. Child
Benefit, childcare element, housing element etc)
• Equivalising income – dividing by number of
household members
• Different bands for single people / couples with
children
• Reverse engineer income bands, and levels of
discount for each, to keep scheme cost-neutral or to
make savings

38. 4. Discount schemes
• Like income-banded schemes (not repeating assessment) but looking at basic
household circumstances only
• Avoid having to add up incomes for every household
• Households sorted into small number of bands, for example:
• Above, use of work allowance (which varies by household type) means larger
households not penalised
• Earnings level set to prevent large numbers gaining eligibility
• Reverse-engineering to find discounts that keep cost same.
Band Criteria % discount
Band 1 households on UC and not earning 90%
Band 2 households on UC and earning below work
allowance
70%
Band 3 households on UC and earning above work
allowance
50%

39. See social and political impacts

40. Comparison of weekly
support
(£ / week)

41. See social and political impacts
On different economic groups On different tenures

42. Conclusion
Universal Credit is coming and the status quo will not be neutral
The best scheme for a local authority will depend on:
• Demographics
• Current scheme
• Political climate
• Members’ objectives and local priorities
The effectiveness of your scheme can only be understood through detailed cost and
social impact analysis

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Questions and answers

44. Next steps
Download Council Tax Support Schemes flyer
Download the Universal Credit Roadmap
Follow up email with this recording and slides, with links
Short 5 question survey now:
• We value your feedback
• Ask questions or clarifications
• Request a more in depth look at our CTR modelling
• Auto sign up to our next webinar: Using data analytics to understand child
vulnerability, Wed 17 April

45. www.policyinpractice.co.uk
Thank you
Zoe Charlesworth
zoe@policyinpractice.co.uk
Allan Clark
Barnet Council
Megan Mclean
megan@policyinpractice.co.uk
hello@policyinpractice.co.uk
office 0330 088 9242