COUNCIL tax benefits could be cut by almost a quarter as West Oxfordshire District Council grapples with a cut in Government funding.

Councillors will today debate ending the 100 per cent council tax discount for 1,310 people who are on other benefits or have low incomes.

The council’s cabinet will look at plans to cut the discount to 91.5 per cent, 80 per cent or 76.5 per cent. A further 1,166 people who get a small discount will also be affected.

The change is being proposed to deal with a 10 per cent cut in funding the Conservative-run council gets from the Government for the benefit.

Ministers last year cut the budget but gave councils more power over the level of entitlement to the means-tested benefit.

West Oxfordshire, along with other councils in Oxfordshire, decided not to change the scheme but it is now set to alter the system from April 1 next year, when the 2014-15 council tax year starts.

The Government said that the changes would “incentivise work”, give councils flexibility and cut spending on the benefit.

Each year the authority spends £4.84m on council tax support but it now needs to find £483,984 to make up for the 10 per cent cut.

This would be met in full by cutting the discount to 76.5 per cent while a 91.5 per cent rate would bring in £194,000 and 80 per cent would bring in £450,000.

A maximum entitlement of a 76.5 per cent would mean a person with a full discount in an average band D home would pay £350.28 a year, based on the 2013-24 charge for a band D home of £1,490.55.

The council’s cabinet member for resources, Simon Hoare, said: “There’s clearly a national imperative from Government to reduce and better target benefits.

“That’s very clear, because the welfare budget was growing by an unsustainable rate year on year.”

The Conservative added: “There is a general trend which is to incentivise people who could work, who should be working, but who have been able not to because the system has allowed them not to.”

Labour group leader Duncan Enright said: “Anybody who can pay council tax should pay their share.”

But he added: “This is typical of this Government. They have no regard for people’s situations. People facing the toughest times often get forced to pay the highest price. Everything else is going up and benefits are being cut.”

The cabinet meeting at the council's Woodgreen headquarters in Witney starts at 2pm.