Council tax support remains unchanged
District households exempt from paying council tax will continue to get the same support from their local authority following a meeting of Lancaster City Council on Wednesday night.
At an extraordinary meeting at Morecambe Town Hall councillors voted to keep existing levels of council tax support for the coming year.
The Government has slashed its grant to local authorities by £500 million forcing the council into funding a £1.1m shortfall.
Council officers had recommended bringing in a ‘cost neutral’ scheme where working age benefit claimants would get 23 per cent less council tax support.
But a motion proposed by councillor Abbott Bryning to retain the current levels was carried by 33 votes to 13, meaning there won’t be taxation for people on benefits.
Prior to the meeting Janice Hanson, deputy leader of Lancaster City Council, had compared any change to the council tax benefit scheme to the Poll Tax, the community charge which led to Margaret Thatcher’s downfall in 1990.
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Weather for Morecambe
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 12 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: South
