Councils can’t administer benefit cuts without the tools to deal with the consequences, says think tank

3 Aug 2011 11:31 AM

Reacting to yesterday’s CLG announcement on devolving responsibility on allocating council tax benefits, Simon Parker, Director of Localism think tank the New Local Government Network (NLGN), said:

“Just because the government cuts council tax benefit, doesn’t mean fewer poor and elderly people need it. Many councils are already taking huge cuts to their budgets and will struggle to top up what they get from central government”

“If ministers want to give councils an incentive to get people into work, then they must also devolve skills and employment funding so that local authorities have the tools for the job”

“As it is, councils have only a limited grip on these policy areas, and the government’s work programme has cut local authorities out of the loop. Ministers can’t expect councils to administer benefit cuts without giving them the means to deal with the consequences”