Pensioner discount decision explained

A decision not to implement a proposed council tax discount for pensioners has been explained by the council's leader Councillor Alan Taylor and Finance Portfolio Holder Councillor William Hobhouse. At the recent full council meeting, there were questions about a council cabinet decision not to proceed with the discount because it would mean increasing the burden to all taxpayers in the borough and would not be targeted to benefit only the less well off.

The council say the scheme would have cost between £310,000 and £350,000 to implement and would have led to a discount of around £16 to a band A bill. It would also have been applicable to all pensioners irrespective of income except those on council tax benefit.

Council Leader, Alan Taylor said: "The proposals put forward simply didn't stack up. We want to help the poorest people in our borough and applying this proposal across the board would have meant that the poorest pensioners on council tax benefit would have been no better off. It's an expensive system to introduce and ultimately does not target money to those who need it most. We need to find better ways of helping the older people who need it most."

Cabinet Member for Finance, William Hobhouse said: "Our decision to keep next year's council tax down to 3.8% reflects our aim to keep the council tax low for everyone.

"There is a council tax discount for Bury pensioners but those on a low income getting council tax benefit do not get any more money in their pockets. This is because the discount is immediately clawed back by the Government as reduction in a means-tested benefit.

"If the discount was introduced it would need to be funded from within existing budgets, or from an increase in council tax across the board."