Council Tax Reduction Scheme Consultation

Overview

Prior to April 2013 Central Government was responsible for Council Tax Benefit. Funding was cut by 10% and transferred to Local Authorities who all set up their own Council Tax Reduction Schemes. This change formed part of Welfare Reform which aimed to reduce the welfare spending and to incentivise people to work.

As the grant for Council Tax Reduction Scheme is now incorporated into the council’s overall revenue support grant, there is no dedicated allocation for Council Tax Reduction. As a result the council must make savings from the scheme to contribute to the £40m savings required to the annual budget by 2019.

To find out more about the review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme please click the link below:

Review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme

Join the discussion

To help shape the future of the scheme a public consultation is being carried out to give those currently eligible for the scheme, residents, stakeholders and partner organisations (including Voluntary Community Organisations) the opportunity to comment and share their views on the proposed changes.

The council is consulting on two options for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme:

• Amend the current scheme
• Adopt a new scheme based on household income levels and a percentage reduction banding 

The questionnaire should take about 20 - 25 minutes to complete.