How to challenge Local Council Tax Support Schemes?

Section 10 (2) Local Government Finance Act 2012 states that Local Council Tax Support schemes must be for “persons whom the authority considers to be in financial need or persons in classes whom the authority considers to be in general in financial need”. So the only criteria must be financial need. Nothing else.

Some councils have developed schemes which have been influenced by or even based on public and policy statements along the lines of “giving people an incentive to get a job” by making them pay a contribution or “people in large houses should not be supported by the taxpayer”, “people feel a sense of responsibility if they have to pay something”. These are not financial need criteria, but are legally irrelevant philosophical rationales for a policy.

At first sight I do wonder where such extraneous concepts have crept into or influenced policy it may mean the local council tax support scheme is ultra vires the Act and thus unlawful. Judical review would of course be the remedy.

What do other people think?

I’m afraid that while the people who qualify must have financial need that needn’t be the only criterion.  Additional criteria can apply as well.

Hi Gareth, I’m quite happy to admit if I have overlooked something, but where in the law does it allow non-financial need criteria to be used?

Of course a challenge to a CTS scheme would take a fair amount of research using the Freedom of Information Act.

Sorry Neil, the point I’m trying to make is that “persons whom the authority considers to be in financial need or persons in classes whom the authority considers to be in general in financial need” are those who can be helped but that doesn’t mean all of them.

I could construct an argument, and so could you, that someone in a big expensive house isn’t in need; they’ve just not organised their affairs properly. 

The real get out of course is in the wording “whom the authority considers”  - that means that it doesn’t matter whether they’re really in need if the authority doesn’t consider them so and the authority is given the powers to make schemes to apply only to those people.

I’m not sure the authority can do what it wants because the Act states “the authority considers”.

Euisdem generis, such a determination must be made on financial need grounds alone (not political grounds like as “reducing welfare dependency”) and any view taken by a local authority must be reasonable and comply with administrative law principles which include not taking account of irrelevant criteria.

Similar phrases crop up in a number of pieces of legislation on local authority duties and it doesn’t mean that councils can do what they want (even though some of them can behave as if they think they can!).

Just looked this weekend at a CTS decision letter sent to a friend.

On the FRONT of the letter it states you must tell us about changes in circs within one month. On the BACK it states you must tell us about changes in circs within 21 days (and about the possible £70 penalty for not doing so).

On the front it also suggests an appeal must be made within one month (actually there is no time limit until the appellant raises an issue with the LA).

I suggest WR advisers look very carefully at these letters and keep a sample handy in their local area. Very useful if the LA tries to change entitlement from a specific date and / or impose a penalty if all the information given on the decision letters is so confused…..