Braintree District Council has launched a consultation on a new Council Tax Support Scheme for 2024/25 for working age applicants in the district.
The current Local Council Tax Support scheme (LCTS) provides help to working age residents on low incomes to pay their council tax. The council is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the scheme that would start from 1 April 2024.
The proposed scheme would make several changes, including:
· Making it easier for residents to apply and understand their council tax discount
· Providing up to 76% support for households on the lowest incomes and those that fall within protected groups (those in receipt of a benefit such as income support or employment support (income related)
· Making the scheme work better with the Universal Credit system
· Removing the need for constant changes in awards and reducing the frequency of changes to payment instalments
· Making the scheme easier to manage.
Residents are being encouraged to take part in a short survey to share their views on the proposed changes. Full details on the proposed LCTS scheme and the survey are available online at https://www.braintree.gov.uk/bandschemeconsultation. For people who do not have access to the internet, paper copies of the survey are available by calling 01376 552525.
Cllr Kevin Bowers, Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance at Braintree District Council, said: “We are committed to providing support to those on low incomes to pay their council tax bills as part of our wider cost of living support to residents.
“The proposed changes to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme would simplify the scheme and make sure we are best utilising this support to help households most in need with their council tax costs. It would also reduce the administration involved, therefore making it quicker to process claims and reducing costs for the council.
“We would like to encourage as many people as possible to take part in the consultation and share their views on the proposed changes. Your feedback is important to us, and it will help us to shape the final scheme.”
The consultation closes at midnight on 12 November 2023.
The LCTS scheme forms part of a wider package of council tax support, which includes the exceptional hardship fund, support with payment plans, debt, disabled relief and money advice.
More information can be found at www.braintree.gov.uk/counciltax.
