PENSIONERS will not get any help to pay their council tax bills from Lancaster City Council.

A Green Party plan to cap bills for older people in the district has been rejected by the city's Cabinet.

The Greens, led by Cllr John Whielegg, wanted officers to investigate the 'legalities, prac-ticalities and costs' of capping any council tax increases at the same rate that state pensions go up.

But the council's ruling Labour group, backed by Conservatives, threw the motion out at a meeting last week.

In a statement, council leader Cllr Ian Barker told the Citizen: "This measure will not help the poorest pensioners. In fact the biggest winners will be wealthy pensioners at the expense of people on low incomes.

"The proposal doesn't tell us how this discount will be funded, but we know it will be through increases for all, particularly those who are just above the threshold for benefit.

"Kent County Council has already proposed a similar measure and has been stopped on legal advice. It was told that it would have to show that pensioners were a uniquely disadvantaged group."

He says Labour believes that what pensioners and other people on low incomes need are effective and fair proposals that can be implemented, and adds: "The city council is already doing a lot to encourage take up of benefits by pensioners. We work with the county welfare rights service to identify pensioners who will be entitled to pension credit and encourage them to claim it."

But Cllr Whitelegg replies by saying he was 'shocked' that so many councillors rejected the motion.

"My proposal simply asked the council to investigate the practicalities of reducing the predicted council tax increases for pensioners," he says.

"The fact that councillors would not even allow this idea to be investigated is a kick in the teeth for all pensioners struggling on a fixed income and worrying about the council tax."