Agenda item

To receive members’ questions under procedure rule no.11.  The procedure rule provides that any member may ask the chairman of a board or group any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

Councillor N Clarke put the following question to Councillor N J Rushton:

“In November 2016 the Government was defeated at the Supreme Court by two families who claimed " the bedroom tax is discriminatory ".  This decision related to disabled people and their carers.

Can the portfolio holder confirm whether this decision has affected any families in North West Leicestershire.  If so, how many and have these families been properly reimbursed with back payment for the Government’s unlawful imposition of the "bedroom tax?”.

Councillor N J Rushton gave the following response:

“We are only aware of one case in North West Leicestershire affected by this decision.

The case involved a couple whose husband required a spare bedroom due to his disability. In April 2013 their appeal was dismissed in line with the regulations at that time.

Following the decision by the Supreme Court in November 2016, new regulations took effect from April 2017 and cases cannot be reimbursed for decisions prior to that date.

In this particular case, no reimbursement would have been payable even if it was allowed as the loss of benefit had been compensated through Discretionary Housing Payments until the couple’s income had increased sufficiently due to the award of Personal Independence Payments. It should also be noted that the couple moved out of our area in August 2016”.

As a supplementary question, Councillor N Clarke sought assurances that all cases which may have been affected by the supreme court decision had been reviewed and that proper monitoring would continue to ensure that no lawful imposition could occur in future.

Councillor N J Rushton advised that the high court ruling was observed and taken account of and any subsequent applications would be treated accordingly. 

Councillor R Johnson put the following question to Councillor T J Pendleton:

“On 21 June I was informed by my Parish Clerk at 10:05am of an email sent to him of a meeting at Morrisons on the same day with Willy Bach Police commissioner and the Chief constable Simon Cole of what matters in Coalville. Was this council aware of this yes or no and if so, why weren’t councillors informed of this event?”.

Councillor T J Pendleton gave the following response:

“Officers at North West Leicestershire District Council were not formally advised of the visit to Morrisons by the Police and Crime Commissioner and Chief Constable on 21 June 2017. Officers did become aware of a potential visit, but only informally, as a result of a passing comment from a police representative on 20 June.

The PCC website provides a publicly available list of PCC events and meetings, including those within the “What Matters to You?” programme. Members can see that information using the following URL: http://www.leics.pcc.police.uk/News-and-Events/Events-Calendar.aspx . Officers have established that the PCC visit to Morrisons in Coalville was listed on this page ahead of the event”.

As a supplementary question, Councillor R Johnson commented that all members would not look at the PCC website and he felt that Democratic Services should monitor and report this in the weekly bulletin.

Councillor T J Pendleton responded that the Police and Crime Commissioner would have informed the Council if he had expected members to attend the event.