Scrapping council tax reduction scheme ‘slap in the face’ 

A housing union has called Bristol City Council’s proposals to review the council tax reduction scheme a “slap in the face” to ordinary people in Bristol.

The council currently provides a council tax reduction scheme to help people on low-income with up to 100 per cent of their council tax costs.

But it announced in January that it would be reviewing the scheme as part of its annual budget planning, with one options to reduce the amount it offers.

The council says it needs to balance the books, and hopes to save £3m by reviewing the scheme.

But housing union, ACORN, said the scheme was a “lifeline” for over 23,000 Bristol households on low income who are already struggling to pay for food and bills.

Members of the union called an ‘emergency meeting’ on Thursday evening in the hopes of fighting back against the plans, which a spokesperson said people were “outraged” by.

The council launched a public consultation at the beginning of August, which will remain open until September 25, but only one of the options is to keep the scheme. The others look at ways to reduce the scheme.

Options include maintaining the current levels of support; reducing the help available with means testing; and introducing a banded scheme providing different levels of support depending on incomes.

The proposals in the consultation would only impact those of working age, and not those old enough to receive a pension.

But a spokesperson for ACORN called the decision “a slap in the face”.

“In the context of £131m spent on a still-unfinished Bristol Beacon, £15m on an underground system that is reportedly ‘unlikely’ to materialise, and a cost of living crisis that has doubled the amount of households facing severe food insecurity, this proposal is a slap in the face of ordinary Bristolians struggling to make ends meet,” they said.

Clifton Down councillor, Carla Denyer, also criticised the proposals. In a tweet she said: “Whether you receive the support yourself or just recognise the importance of supporting the poorest, please respond to the consultation to let the council know what you think.”

Bristol City Council looked at scrapping the council tax reduction back in 2017, but decided to keep it after pressure from campaign groups like ACORN.

Bristol is one of the last remaining councils in England to still provide a fully funded Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

“Defending the CTR in 2017 was a major victory for ACORN that kept an annual saving of £8m in the pockets of those who have been hit hardest by a decade of government cuts,” a spokesperson for ACORN said.

ACORN members said they would be organising meetings and action campaigns to put pressure on the council to continue the scheme.

Main photo: Ilowie Travena

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