Greenwich’s poorest residents will need to have less than £2,000 in savings if they want help paying their council tax bills, according to a policy outlined this week.
The Labour-run council voted earlier this year to remove an exemption from the charge that had been in place since 2020 to save £1.1 million each year.
Now about 12,400 of the borough’s poorest residents have to pay 20 per cent of the bills, an increase on the 15 per cent they had to pay before the exemption was introduced, although they can now apply to a new hardship fund for help.
The fund, approved by Jackie Smith, the cabinet member for inclusive economy, business and skills, requires residents to apply each year for help, for sums covering from one week to the rest of the financial year. The new policy was published on Tuesday and will come into effect next week, unless it is challenged by a backbench councillor.
Applicants will have to be receiving council tax support or be applying for it, and have less than £2,000 in savings, not including the value of their home or vehicle. The limit is raised to £3,000 for those receiving pensions.
Council officers will ask for proof, including bank statements, and will ask if applicants are seeking help from the council’s welfare rights service or national organisations like Stepchange or the National Debtline.
The hardship fund is worth £1 million of funds from City Hall and the Westminster government’s household support fund.
When plans to scrap the exemption were announced last December, Mariam Lolovar, who was the cabinet member for business and skills at the time, said that the scale of the council’s financial problems meant that “we have to look at everything” when it came to making cuts.
But Matt Hartley, the leader of the Conservative opposition, branded it “a vote to increase poverty in this borough”. He said that the exemption also saved the council money in not having to employ bailiffs to chase unpaid bills.
The exemption had originally been recommended by a “fairness commission” put together by the town hall. But Greenwich and a number of other boroughs have now decided they cannot afford the 100 per cent discount as they grapple with the soaring costs of social care services and putting homeless families in temporary accommodation.
Residents who want to apply for discretionary council tax relief can visit the Greenwich Council website.
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