Town and parish councils face some difficult decisions after Wiltshire Council reduced a grant aimed at combating Government council tax reforms.

During today’s cabinet meeting, held at County Hall, Trowbridge, the decision was made to reduce a £1.4 million grant, shared between town and parish councils, by 35 per cent.

Cutbacks by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) mean that councils now only get financial support for homes that do not get housing benefit.

Due to further planned reductions in the financial support local authorities receive from the government, Wiltshire Council, felt they needed to reduce the overall grant they give out.

“These changes are due to the way tax benefit is worked out,” said Wiltshire Councillor Dick Tonge, cabinet member for finance.

“This money comes from the Government and is not ring-fenced and we expect in the fullness of time it will reduce further.”

In coming to their decision, Wiltshire Council held a consultation with town and parish councils proposing a reduction in the grant they give them and accessing how they’d cope.

It sought feedback on three options, a grant reduction of 20 per cent, 35 per cent or 100 per cent.

Of those town and parish councils who responded, 62 per cent supported a reduction or receiving no grant, while 63 per cent also stated they didn’t want to rely on the grant and wanted to be financially independent.

Last year, the Government only gave Wiltshire Council a grant of £1.1 million towards the region’s council tax support scheme and given that many town and parish councils had already submitted the precepts they topped up the figure by £300,000.