15 October (Part 2) - Cabinet Member reports to Finance Scrutiny meeting
Councillor
Leaf is waiting for Rachel Reeves budget and has “sent in a barrage of letters” to various Ministers.
He said that Black History Month had been celebrated with speeches, food, singing, dancing and a quiz.
There is a
Council Tax Reduction Scheme consultation active until 30th October.
The Household Support funding has ended but he wasn’t sure how many had benefited.
The removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance is the subject of “added focus” to see how the Council might be able to help.
Councillor Steven Hall asked how many Bexley residents were affected by the
withdrawal of WFA and “how can we assist”? Councillor Leaf did not have a
precise figure but had done some calculations. For last year it looked like the
number eligible was in the region of 38,000 of which all but three to four thousand will
lose out this year. He said that canvassing in Belvedere revealed not only the
elderly worried about the cut but also younger people worried about their
parents. The Council’s ability to help is “limited” and there is no easy way of
identifying who have been only just caught by Labour’s cut and who may need assistance.
The £1·5 million household support grant was not intended to cover the loss of WFA but it may be of some help.
Councillor Stefano Borella (Labour Leader) said that withdrawal of the WFA was in the
Conservative’s 2017 Manifesto and they had subsequently suggested that it should
be means tested but he regretted its withdrawal.
He feared that Bexley Council will reduce the benefits provided by the Council
Tax Reduction Scheme; why else would there be a consultation?
Cabinet Member Leaf with his encyclopedic knowledge of political trivia said that the
2017 Manifesto did not promise the withdrawal of WFA (but there was to be a new
Social Care formula) and on the contrary,
Labour’s 2015 Manifesto promised a cut for wealthier pensioners. A General
Election in which Councillor Borella stood as a candidate.