ACORN has warned council chiefs against cutting “vital” support with the cost of living for the poorest people in Bristol. For the third time, Bristol City Council is proposing to cut the council tax reduction scheme, meaning some households might have to start paying council tax.
The scheme costs £44.5 million and budget proposals include reducing this by £3.4 million from April 2026. ACORN, a community union, urged councillors on the strategy and resources policy committee to scrap the proposals on Monday, January 20, and protect the scheme.
Wesley Bear, a member of ACORN, said: “We are deeply concerned about the proposed cuts to the council tax reduction scheme, which would place an unjust burden on the poorest residents of our city. Bristol needs you to step up and show real leadership in these challenging times.
“You have promised time and again to defend the council tax benefit, a vital lifeline for many Bristolians. Yet now you are suggesting the poorest among us pay for your poor financial management. If you cut this lifeline, you will be remembered for taking food off the table of the lowest income and vulnerable Bristolian families.
“This is not the leadership that Bristol deserves. You are speaking Green but you are acting blue, and it’s time to be clear — either you’re on the side of Bristol, or you’re siding with the government which continues to bleed us dry. Cutting this lifeline will betray the values you claim to uphold. We demand you honour your commitments.
“Protect this lifeline and stand with the people of Bristol. Marcus Mosiah Garvey once said that we need leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice; not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity. The choice is yours: prove that you’re willing to fight for a fairer, more equitable Bristol, or face the force of community spirit.”
The Labour government is also cutting the amount of cash given to councils for the Household Support Fund. This grant started during the pandemic, and is expected to be renewed for the next financial year beginning in April, although substantially smaller than in previous years.
If the cuts to the council tax reduction scheme go ahead, some of the poorest households would start paying council tax, although potentially at discounted rates. Bristol is an outlier in major British cities in the hefty size of the scheme.
Graham Clapp, the head of revenue and benefits, said: “We’re the only core city which has maintained, since 2013, the same scheme. So there’s some work to do regarding whether that’s the correct approach and affordable.”
The council tax reduction scheme has come under threat before, but City Hall chiefs have previously backed down from controversial proposals to cut its funding. Nevertheless, the proposals have again resurfaced this year.
Labour Councillor Tim Rippington said: “I’ve sat on a group for the last two years running which has gone through all the details of the council tax reduction scheme, the benefits that it has, and how it could be reorganised and cut. I’m worried that I’m going to sit through exactly the same thing for a third year running, before coming to the same conclusion.
“It’s a bit like the old adage of madness being doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
This time, the council will be consulting with ACORN, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Bristol Law Centre and other relevant groups and organisations, before any final decisions are made. Another factor is the upcoming spending review, where the government will set out its plans to provide cash to councils across the country.
Green Cllr Heather Mack, deputy leader of the council, said: “One point that we didn’t really have before was external stakeholders. Let’s work with the groups that help and support people with benefits, and also those in receipt of funds when we pay them out, to get that greater information about what is helping people — rather than just having a small group of councillors.
“The affordability of the council tax reduction scheme is based on and linked to an extent on government funding. I’m trying to prolong our discussion, decision and work on the council tax reduction scheme until after we get an idea in the spring of ongoing funding for the council. That’s not me saying we’ll definitely have money to afford it, but please can we not make any decisions about it until we know what money we’re getting and what we can afford.”