Minutes:
The Head of Revenues, Benefits and Business Services reported that, in accordance with the instructions of the Standards Committee, the Officers had reviewed the Guidance for Members in relation to their involvement in Housing and Council Tax Benefit work. It was considered that the essential aspects of the Guidance should remain unchanged and that revisions should be limited to those which took into account changes in regulations, job titles etc.
Members’ attention was drawn to the fact that the Government had changed the way in which appeals against decisions on Housing and Council Tax Benefits were decided upon. Previously, local authorities had established Housing and Benefit Review Boards and it had been necessary within the Guidance to give Members advice on avoiding conflicts of interest if they were appointed to such boards. Under recent Government changes appeals were now initially required to be reviewed by Officers in the Benefits Service and, if that review did not result in a decision in the claimant’s favour, the appeal had to be heard by the Appeal Service, set up by the Government as an independent arbiter with no local authority involvement in the decision making process. Members would be able to help and represent their constituents in making an appeal provided their constituent gave the necessary consent. These changes had been incorporated into the revised Guidance.
Recommended - That the revised Guidanceon Member Involvement in Individual Council Tax and Housing Benefit Cases now submitted be approved and adopted by Council.