Local authorities will need to make real-term savings above the 10% demanded by ministers when managing localised council tax benefit (CTB) schemes, an expert has warned.

Addressing The MJ Future Forum in Warwickshire on 24 May, Allen Graham, chief executive at Rushcliffe BC, said the timetable for implementing, by next April, significant CTB changes – which affect all areas of the country – was more ambitious than the transition from the poll tax.