Council Tax Support Scheme

Our Local Scheme

Council Tax Support schemes must be based on the law which is set out in these regulations. These are known as the prescribed scheme and are the rules which every Council in England must follow. In addition, the Government also provided further legislation called the default scheme.

The Council did not have to follow the default scheme regulations. However, the Council recognised that many aspects of the default scheme were suitable locally but made some changes from 1st April 2013, which are set out below:

• All working-age people pay at least 15 per cent of their Council Tax bill even if they previously had nothing to pay.
• The Second Adult Rebate scheme which gives a reduction of up to 25 per cent to anyone who is single but shares their home with someone on a low income ended.
• Non-dependant deductions increased by 10 per cent (these are the deductions from your entitlement if you have other adults in your household such as grown-up children).

From 1 April 2014, the Council made a further change to the scheme. From 1 April 2014, the percentage of people had to pay off their Council Tax bill increased from 8.5 per cent to 15 per cent.

From 01 April 2017, the Council have made further changes to the scheme

• The level of maximum Council Tax Support for working age customers remains at 85% of Council Tax liability.
• The capital limit is reduced to £6,000. This means that if you are working age and have in excess of £6000 capital you will no longer be entitled to Council Tax Support (this does not apply if you receive a “passported” benefit such as Income Support, JSA (IB) or ESA (IR). The limit for housing benefit remains at £16,000.
• Council Tax Support awards are limited to Council Tax Band D if you are working age. This means that if you live in a property banded E to H your CTS will be calculated as though you were in a Band D property

These changes only applied to working-age persons. Pensioners were protected.

Changes to the scheme for 2017/18 were approved by the Council on Tuesday 17 January 2017 effective from 01 April 2017.

How to make a claim for Council Tax Support

You can find further information and download the Council Tax Support application by visiting our Council Tax Support page.

Discretionary Council Tax Support

The Council has developed a scheme to provide additional help and support to people experiencing hardship in paying their Council Tax. Full details about this extra help can be found by visiting our Discretionary Council Tax Support page.