CHANGES and a cut to council tax benefit will make it difficult to properly fund the service, a Newport council report has said.

The UK government has decided to devolve the responsibility for the benefit to the Welsh Government from April 2013, but has cut funding by ten per cent for that year.

Claimants across Wales could face a cut in their council tax support, and a Newport council report says it faces a shortfall of more than a million pounds because of the changes.

The Welsh Government has decided there will be no additional funding and it will be up to councils to make up the shortfall.

A Newport council report to its cabinet says there will be “significant difficulty in adequately funding” a service that is led by demand while its costs are limited.

Council officers argue that Newport will have a shortfall of around 16 per cent when inflation is considered – which in financial terms is around £1.67 million.

The Welsh Government has decided that limiting council tax support to a fixed percentage should be used to reduce the amount spent on support, the report stated, with a 91 per cent limit achieving the 10 per cent reduction in funding.

An awareness programme for claimants will be necessary to make people aware of a possible reduction in their support from next April, the report read.

It said time was short to design a framework acceptable to all Welsh authorities and allow three current software providers time to create a processing system.

A Welsh Government spokesman said the UK government was forcing through a huge change that requires officials to develop new schemes within “extremely challenging” timescales.

“Despite our profound concerns UK government is pressing ahead with these changes, so our priority is ensuring that we can continue to provide support with council tax bills to prevent severe financial hardship,” he said.

Newport cabinet will consider the report on Monday.