FAIR DEAL FOR BIRMINGHAM COUNCIL TAX PAYERS

That this House notes the impact of the proposed changes in council tax benefit and the likely effect on councils like Birmingham City Council, which has the largest caseload of citizens currently in receipt of council tax benefit by a considerable margin; believes that Birmingham's ability to support the most vulnerable in society will be severely affected by these changes; calls on the Secretary of State to recognise that the combination of the haste with which thelocal schemes are being introduced and the fact that benefits will be cut by 10 per cent will hit the poorest sections ofour community hardest; and further notes that the most deprived families in Birmingham and elsewhere could face bills of around 300, even if the local authority succeeds in protecting households where there is a pensioner or disabled person, and other low-income households will be asked to pay 24 per cent of the full council tax bill, as a result of these changes.