Plaid Cymru councillors on Caerphilly County Borough Council are to table a motion condemning cuts to council tax benefits.
Around 20,500 households in the county borough claiming council tax benefit will be affected by the cut.
From April, responsibility for council tax benefit will be transferred from the UK Government to the Welsh Government with a new national scheme called the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
The UK Government has cut the level of funding to the Welsh Government by 10%, around £22m, meaning less support for residents who claim.
The 20-strong Plaid Cymru group is calling on the council to urge the Welsh Government not to pass the cut on.
The motion will now be considered at a meeting of the policy and resources scrutiny committee later this month. If it is supported it will then go to full council.
Councillor Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group, said: “This housing benefit cuts will hit low income families in Caerphilly county borough very hard. It has been estimated that benefit recipients will be on average £67 worse off.
“I’m hugely disappointed that the Welsh Government has refused to step in and cover the money the Westminster is cutting from council tax benefit which is around £22m.
“I know funding decisions are a question of priorities but Labour at the last Assembly elections promised to stand up for Wales. Well, it is no point just complaining, they should be helping some of the lowest income families in Caerphilly and further afield. To do nothing is more like lying down for Wales.
“In Scotland, the SNP Government has taken the decision to make up the 10% shortfall so there is no impact on hard-pressed families. The Welsh Government should be doing the same.
“We hope our motion will be passed and Caerphilly council sends a clear message to those in administration in Cardiff Bay that help must be provided for the poorest families in this area.”
A consultation regarding the new scheme is now open giving residents of Caerphilly County Borough the opportunity to have their say.
The closing date for the consultation is January 18, 2013.
For more information and to access the consultation paper visit www.caerphilly.gov.uk or email counciltaxconsultation@caerphilly.gov.uk
I find myself in total accord with Colin Mann and his Nationalist Colleagues on Caerphilly Council, on this issue.
It is a disgrace, it is an obscene spectacle of a Labour Welsh Assembly doing the bidding of an odious English, Tory, Lib Dem, governments attack on the most financially venerable citizens of Wales, and in this case, of Caerphilly borough.
The Welsh Government made it clear some time ago that it would not use its reduced resources to cover the Tory cuts. Blame for the changes to Council Tax Benefit rests solely with the UK Government.
If the Welsh Government (which has less money than the Scotish Government) were to cover the cuts then that money would have to be found from other already reduced budgets. Budgets that have been reduced of course by the Tories and their Lib Dem partners.
So when Plaid and others criticise Labour in Wales they should explain where they will take the money from. But they never do.
Jeff- The fact is , as you say, these decisions are made by our Welsh Assembly Government as a matter of financial priorities, and there lays the clue.
I fail to see how it can be said that a simple statement of intent by the Welsh Assembly not to use it`s ( OUR) resources to cover Tory cuts can, in all cases, will follow on, that a Welsh Labour Party would be implicit with the Tories in heaping abject financial misery on old aged pensioners, and, disabled recipients of Council tax benefits, and households where children will already be subject to unacceptable levels of child poverty, by imposing another ` hardship penalty` on those households, which is what these changes to Council Tax Benefit will do.
This appears to a blind, blanket, statement by the Welsh Assembly which should be subject to active review, and, not relied upon as a determined immovable ` cultural` obstacle to maintaining humanitarian state relief to those in most need.
What the Scots Government say about Tory cuts and protecting the Scots from them:
“558,000 people in Scotland on the lowest incomes currently receive council tax benefit, including the unemployed, pensioners, those who cannot work because of disability, carers and people who receive tax credits. We will not allow them to be victims of UK cuts – we will work to protect them.
To draw paralels with Scotland is miss-leading. As I have said they are better funded through the Barnett Formula than us. And it's not a question of not wanting to support those in greatest need. That's why we will continue to fund free bus passes for older and some disabled people, free school breakfasts and free prescriptions.
When the full effects of Universal Credit and the "Bedroom Tax" are felt then the impact will be considerable. BUT it will be beyong the scope of the Welsh Government to cover these cuts unless we have a significant rise in our settlement (very unlikely) or reduce other hard pressed budgets like education and health.
So let's put blame where it lies.
Or,
Jeff AM asked in a recent comment on this page, that anyone who criticised the Welsh assembly Government on their failure to maintain full council tax benefits to the most needy, unlike the Tory and Lib Dems in England, should suggest where the Assembly should find the money to fill that shortfall, here goes:
Reduce the Capital provision in the "Business, Technology and Science Provision" by 10 Million Pounds to 85 Million. Let Private enterprise fund some of its own projects and promotions. That`s 10 Million
Reduce the "Central Services Budgets" of the Assembly by 10 Million Pounds to 40 Million
Reduce the "Gypsy Travellers Programme" by 1 Million Pounds
That's the first 21 million pounds of the 22 million pounds needed, and, we haven't asked each constituent local authority to contribute a penny at this point.
Cut the Assembly`s "Information and Support Services" by 5 Million Pounds
Cut the "Assembly`s Regeneration Funds"( The Department of sometimes useless project) by 2 Million Pounds to 62 Million Pounds
Cut the "Housing, Regeneration and Heritage Budgets" by 2 Million Pounds. Much of the money accessed from this budget is spent on other things by its recipient partners other than Housing, hence the dramatic increase in Wales of Rough Sleepers.
With the talk about budgets and finding money to bridge gaps if Council Tax were paid by Caerphilly council (or be it via Welsh Government) – Where would the money come from to buy Cardiff Airport then!!????
That would be like a Wales version of a bank bailout!….
Would it be money left over from this financial year?
I noticed an AM comment on here (Jeff Cuthbert)? – I am not happy about this so called buying of airport when all around there are cuts.
I am in process of trying to arrange a petition in the hope to stop this buy plan that doesn't make sense under present climate.