Have your say on the Council Tax Support scheme
Monday, December 02, 2024
Wakefield Council is asking residents to have their say on proposed changes to the Council Tax Support scheme for 2026-27.
Council Tax Support is help for people on a low income to meet some of the cost of their Council Tax.
“Councils have had to provide a working age Council Tax Support scheme for 12 years. As part of managing our resources responsibly and targeting them towards those most in need, it’s time for us to review it.
“There may be more effective ways to balance helping residents with making support more affordable for the Council. I’d urge residents to have their say – it’s important we take your views into account before making any changes.
“We want to make sure that the support available continues to support our most vulnerable working age residents now and in the future.”
Cllr Les Shaw
Cabinet Member for Resources
The current scheme is complex, costly to administer, and is expensive compared to many neighbouring councils. Claims for the Working Age Support scheme increased by 6.7% in the last year – the highest number in West Yorkshire.
With the Council facing very difficult financial circumstances – a budget gap of about £88m over the next five years – it needs to consider options to save money and help continue delivering essential services for residents.
The consultation is on proposed changes to the working age part of the scheme. These include changing the types of income taken into account, the levels of personal savings an applicant can have, and the amounts of support available for residents.
Councils must provide a Council Tax Support scheme to help people on low incomes pay their Council Tax. There are currently around 31,500 residents receiving Council Tax support in the district. Around 21,500 of them are working age and 10,000 are of pension age.
The rules for the pensioner element of the scheme are set by central Government and provides pensioners with support of up to a maximum of 100% of their Council Tax liability.
The working age element of the scheme is for each Council to decide annually. The current working age scheme has a maximum level of support for working age claimants of 70%. This means that all working age claimants pay a minimum of 30% of their property’s Council Tax charge.
Residents can have their say at www.wakefield.gov.uk/ctsconsultation. It is open now until 13 April 2025.
Following the consultation, if any changes to the scheme are proposed, a report will be submitted to Council for approval. This will contain full details of the changes, and the responses from the consultation.
Any changes to the scheme following consultation will come into effect on 1 April 2026.