We'll now return to item 8, and I call on the Minister to move the motion.

Motion NDM8179 Lesley Griffiths

To propose that the Senedd, in accordance with Standing Order 27.5, approves that the draft The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 is made in accordance with the draft laid in the Table Office on 6 December 2022.

Motion moved.

I welcome the opportunity to bring forward these amending regulations today. The Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements and Default Scheme) (Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 amend the 2013 council tax reduction scheme regulations. The scheme provides direct help to households across Wales by reducing their council tax bills, and these amendments ensure entitlements are maintained.

The UK Government abolished council tax benefit on 31 March 2013 and passed responsibility for developing new arrangements to the Welsh Government. The UK Government's decision was accompanied by a 10 per cent cut to the funding for the scheme. The Welsh Government responded by meeting the funding gap, to maintain entitlements to support to 2013. We have continued to maintain entitlements each year since. The scheme currently supports around 268,000 of the poorest households in Wales. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to place increased pressures and hardships on the people of Wales, it is even more important that we ensure that the systems in place to support them are as fair as they can be and are kept up to date.

Amending legislation is needed each year to ensure the figures used to calculate each household's entitlement to a reduction are increased to take account of rises in the cost of living. The 2023 regulations make up these uprating adjustments and maintain existing entitlements to support. The financial figures for 2023-24 relating to working age people, disabled people and carers are increased in line with the September consumer price index—10.1 per cent. Figures relating to pensioner households continue to be increased in line with the UK Government's standard minimum guarantee and mirror the uprating of housing benefit.

I've also taken the opportunity to include minor technical changes and to make additional amendments to reflect other changes to related benefits. For example, I'm amending the regulations to ensure that people arriving from Ukraine, who are fleeing war and are in need of support, will not be treated as not being habitually resident in the UK. This means that, where eligible, they will be able to access this scheme. A further amendment ensures that the council tax bills of households in Wales that host people under the Homes for Ukraine scheme are not affected by their offer to provide support to people from Ukraine. And finally, we have removed the exception for European economic area citizens, who are now subject to immigration control, to mirror the regulations in England.

These regulations maintain entitlements to reductions in council tax bills for households in Wales. As a result of this scheme, the most hard-pressed households receiving CTRS will continue to pay no council tax in 2023-24. This scheme remains a cornerstone of our targeted support for households, especially those suffering most from the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.

Finally, I'm grateful for the report of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee. As outlined in the Government's response to that report, the two minor technical errors in the regulations will be corrected prior to the regulations being made, and I ask Members to approve these regulations today.

I call on the Chair of the Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, Huw Irranca-Davies.

Thank you, once again, Dirprwy Lywydd, and thank you, Minister, also. We considered these regulations on 9 January, and our report has been laid to inform Members in this afternoon’s debate.

These regulations amend, as the Minister was saying, the 2013 regulations to uprate certain figures used to calculate an applicant’s entitlement to a reduction under a council tax reduction scheme.

Our report on these regulations contained, as the Minister mentioned, two technical points, and I thank the Minister for providing a timely response. The first technical reporting point highlighted what we considered to be a small issue with the drafting of the Welsh language version of the regulations.

Our second technical reporting point identified an inconsistency between the English language and the Welsh language texts in regulation 13 of the regulations. The Minister agreed with these reporting points. The Welsh Government considered that these errors are technical in nature, and we were indeed told that these would be corrected prior to the instrument being made.

So, Minister, thank you for confirming to the Chamber that these corrections will take place as has been suggested, and for responding so positively to our report.

I call on the Minister to reply.

I'm grateful to the Chair of the committee for those comments, and, as I say, we will make those necessary changes.

Just to reiterate, really, the important fact that the regulations will ensure that the figures used to calculate a household's entitlement to a reduction in its council tax bill will take account of the rises in the cost of living. I think that's really important in the context that we're currently in. And, of course, the technical and consequential amendments will also enable council tax reduction schemes in Wales to be administered effectively and efficiently.

I'd also like to remind colleagues that amending regulations are required each year to ensure that all eligible households in Wales retain their entitlement to support. And, as outlined in my statement on the response to our consultation on a fairer council tax in December, I published a summary of responses to that, and we had over 1,000 responses, reflecting a really wide range of views and interests, and I'm very much looking forward to driving forward that agenda alongside colleagues.

The proposal is to agree the motion. Does any Member object? No. Therefore, the motion is agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.

Motion agreed in accordance with Standing Order 12.36.