Council Tax Support Banded Scheme

Council Tax Support  is a locally designed and funded scheme that assists households on low incomes to pay their council tax. It replaced Council Tax benefit from April 2013.

The regulations for pensioners (those that have reached their state pension age) are prescribed by Central Government and are based on council tax benefit regulations. There are no such regulations for working age claimants and as such, it is up to each local authority to develop a scheme that is affordable and helps those on low income cover their council tax costs.

Since 2013, Hertsmere has based its working age scheme on the old Council Tax Benefit regulations. This means that the award is calculated by comparing the income with the applicable amount (what the government says the claimant should be able to live on, taking into account all circumstances such as number of children and any disabilities).

This scheme is based on older regulations that work well with older benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance, Tax Credits or Income Support.

It is now more common for a claimant to be in receipt of Universal Credit, which works differently to these older benefits. The authority has therefore decided to introduce a scheme more aligned to the Universal Credit system that simplifies the assessment calculation making awards easier to understand and council tax instalments easier to follow.

 

The definition of vulnerable groups was originally agreed by the council in 2013 as follows:

• A lone parent responsible for a child under five
• The applicant, partner or child is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) at any rate
• The applicant or partner is in receipt of Employment Support Allowance including the support component

For the purpose of the banded scheme, the definition of vulnerable will remain the same. Therefore, if you fit any of the above criteria you will be in the protected group.

Example One:

Claimant circumstances:  Lone parent with a child under 5 in Band E property with earnings of £236 a week. (Protected Group) living in the Elstree and Borehamwood Parish

Full Weekly Council Tax Liability: £2,240.19 per year but as the claimant lives alone, they will be entitled to a 25% single person discount. This means the yearly liability will be £1,680.14 or £32.22 per week

Eligible Weekly Council Tax Liability: £32.22

Income Band: 4

Council Tax Support Calculation: 20% of £32.22 = £6.44

Weekly Council Tax Support: £6.44

Example Two:

Claimant circumstances: Couple with no dependents in Band E property with earnings of £236 a week (Working Group) living in Bushey

Full Weekly Council Tax Liability: £2,196.47 per year or £42.12 per week

Eligible Liability (Restricted to Band D rate): £1,797.11 per year or £34.47 per week

Income Band: 4

Council Tax Support Calculation: 20% of £34.47 = £6.89

Weekly Council Tax Support: £6.89

Example Three:

Claimant Circumstances: Single, not working and in receipt of Personal Independent Payment (PIP). Band C property (Protected Group) living in Elstree and Borehamwood.

Full Weekly Council Tax Liability: £1,629.23 per year or £0.01 per week but as the claimant lives alone, they will be entitled to a 25% single person discount. This means the yearly liability will be £1,221.92 or £23.43 per week.

Eligible Weekly Council Tax Liability: £1,221.92 per year or £23.43 per week

Income Band: 0

Council Tax Support Calculation: 100% of £23.43 = £23.43

Weekly Council Tax Support: £23.43

Example Four:

Claimant Circumstances: Single, not working. Band D property (Working Group) living in Aldenham

Full Weekly Council Tax Liability: £1,698.96 per year but as the claimant lives alone, they will be entitled to a 25% single person discount. This means the yearly liability will be £1,274.22 or £24.44 per week.