THE council’s support for Wokingham’s most vulnerable residents has been branded “unacceptable” after the authority revised its tax help scheme.

Wokingham Borough Council’s (WBC) council tax reduction scheme (CTR) has been changed after a report claimed the implementation of Universal Credit will be a “costly” process that the authority “cannot sustain”.

One change made by the council to accommodate this includes counting a third of any money received by residents through child maintenance as income.

Labour councillor Andy Croy said: “This scheme proposes that we literally take cash from children. But it’s not cash – it will be food, clothes, school trips, colder houses or mums going without an evening meal.

“I don’t believe that any member in this room became a councillor in order to have this conscience. I don’t believe that any member in this council became a councillor to pay the poorest paid much less. I just don’t believe it.

“This attack on women in receipt of child maintenance is unacceptable.”

The maximum discount a family would receive on council tax payments is 78 per cent.

And Liberal Democrats councillor Lindsay Ferris pointed out that a family with one child on an income of under £10,000 a year would still be expected to pay £400 in council tax every year.

He said: “It is this group of people who are struggling most. Many in this situation are needing to go to the local food bank.

“The Liberal Democrat group has decided to vote against this proposal as it puts undue pressure on the most vulnerable in the borough.”

Cllr Ferris requested a recorded vote at the end of the debate on the CTR scheme and all Conservative councillors present voted for the plan, with councillors Lindsay Ferris, Prue Bray, Clive Jones, Imogen Shepherd-DuBey and Rachelle Shepherd-DuBey (Lib Dems), Gary Cowan (Independent), Andy Croy, Carl Doran and Rachel Burgess (Labour) all voting against the proposal.

Another change listed in a report brought to the council by Conservative Cllr Anthony Pollock, executive member for finance, highlighted that the capital cut off point for the scheme is now £4,000, down from the previous figure of £16,000.

Labour councillor Rachel Burgess said: “Here we have yet another example of the impact of austerity on ordinary people – right here in Wokingham borough.

“Records show that nearly £1m has been wiped off the budget for council tax reduction since 2013, a fall of almost 20 per cent.

“At a time when Wokingham food bank is in such demand, we have been able to help 1,100 fewer people under this scheme, as a result of Conservative funding cuts, and even more will have lost out financially.”

Cllr Burgess claimed the changes affect 4,000 residents in the borough and a report showed that “only 14 surveys were returned” after a council consultation, but “no conclusive evidence” could be drawn from these surveys to alter the proposed CTR scheme for 19/20.

Labour councillor Carl Doran and Cllr Pollock became embroiled in a cross-chamber row shortly before the vote was carried, with the former stating: “These changes, which will clearly hit the vulnerable the most, again, seem to be due to the implementation of the abomination in Universal Credit and your continuing austerity attack on the majority of people in this country.”

Cllr Pollock hit back by saying: “We have been paying the price for Gordon Brown’s and Tony Blair’s mismanagement of this economy.

“This is a proposal for the protection of our vulnerable residents. If we had been able to be more generous I would have liked to have been but given the consequences of Labour party financial mismanagement we are unable to so I am afraid I propose we must accept this proposal for the council tax reduction scheme next year.”

At the start of the debate, Cllr Parry Batth said: “The adoption of a localised council tax support scheme will ensure that all working-age borough residents who may experience financial difficulties in paying their council tax liabilities have access to the scheme of assistance. Designed locally, offering financial help to those who qualify and are in such need. This is very good news indeed.”

The vote was taken at a meeting of WBC’s councillors on Thursday, January 24.