LEICESTER City Council is proposing changes to the way council tax support for low-income households is worked out and is asking for people’s views.
The proposals will make the scheme simpler for people receiving support, increase help to the most vulnerable and reduce the council’s cost.
Under the proposals, a new weekly income banding scheme will be introduced to determine the level of council tax support people receive and bring the scheme in line with the Government’s Universal Credit.
The proposals will simplify the process of awarding council tax support and lead to fewer changes in the amount of council tax people have to pay due to even slight changes in their household income.
Currently, the city council processes more than 130,000 changes a year – an average of seven changes for each of the 18,000 households that receive council tax support. In the worst cases, this can result in people getting unexpected bills for unpaid council tax.
The new income banding scheme will be sufficiently broad to avoid constant changes in support.
The proposed changes will also introduce increases in the amount of council tax support available to many households in receipt of disability related benefits, from 80 per cent to 100 per cent of their total bill.
Other households would see a reduction in the maximum support they can get, from 80 per cent to 75 per cent.
The proposed changes will not apply to people of pension age, where different rules are set by the Government.
It is estimated that the proposed changes could save the city council about £2.8million per year, of which £400,000 will be saved from administration costs.
Deputy city mayor Cllr Sarah Russell said: “These proposals are intended to make our council tax support scheme simpler and fairer and increase support for those households who need it the most. At the same time, we need to respond to the severe financial pressures placed on the council by the previous government.
“I understand that for some of the people who might have to pay more towards their council tax, this could be a struggle. To help with this, we will be considering how we can change our existing council tax discretionary support scheme to provide more help with their council tax. I will be proposing we increase the amount of discretionary support available from £500,000 to £750,000 per year for two years.
“I would urge anyone who could be affected by the proposed changes to have their say as part of the public consultation. It is important that we take this decision considering as many views as possible.”
The public consultation is now live and will run until 10 November. A final decision will be taken by full council in January.
People can view full details of the proposals and have their say at www.leicester.gov.uk/consultations