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Council tax benefit controversy
Oh and High Peak Borough Council:
http://www.highpeak.gov.uk/hp/news/council-prepares-for-benefits-overhaul
Tony
cheers tony ...
... keep ‘em coming!!
rotherham is go ....
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/toolkit/council_tax_support#consultations
West Oxon DC:
http://www.westoxon.gov.uk/furtherinfo/whatsnew.cfm/1211
South Oxon DC
Vale of White Horse DC:
All 5 Oxon district councils intend to reproduce the existing CTB scheme for 13-14 and are undertaking a joint consultation on 14 onward with the intention of having the same scheme across the five districts.
Sheffield Consultation closed Sept 17
thanks peter - have added the three oxon consultations to toolkit.
cheers ros
and North East Derbyshire: http://www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk/council-democracy/have-your-say/
Tony
I’m curious over the phrase ” All working age people (unless considered vulnerable) will be required to pay a minimum 25% council tax.”
1. Does this mean everyone below pensionable age will pay council tax, or
2.Does it mean all working, working age people will pay council tax.
The difference being that all people below pensionable age include everyone on benefits, whereas all working, working age people exclude people on benefits.
My reading is option 1
Certainly for our LA Option 1 is the right reading.
My concern is that the general public wont even consider that anyone receiving benefits is included in the expression “working age people”. People on benefits wont have any choice in whether they pay or not, as Council Tax can be deducted directly from benefits.
So taking that a step further you could end up with the Council Tax collection rate from benefits being nearly 100%, while those on low incomes don’t pay, with councils not chasing arrears due to it not being cost effective The poorest get poorer Q.E.D. (Quite Easily Done)
People on benefits wont have any choice in whether they pay or not, as Council Tax can be deducted directly from benefits.
Where do you get that from. CTS will be a reduction in charge but CT will have to be collected normally.
Arrears subject to a liability order can be taken by third party deduction. In my district, £3.55 per week would not even cover the proposed minimum ongoing charge (for someone working age in Band A with a 25% deduction).
Sorry I meant Council tax arrears not council tax. A couple of years ago, my son (receiving JSA and DLA LRC) shared a house with 3 others who had to pay CT, 2 of them paid, left and couldnt be traced. The other one left without paying. This person had become a student whilst still living in the house. I was told that the CT department wouldnt bother looking for him as they could take the arrears directly from my son’s benefits, which they did.
So if people on benefits start being liable for council tax, they could get hit for the CT charge,any of their own arrears and all of anyone else’s arrears that they signed a tenancy agreement with.
Well, it seems our CTS scheme will be significantly different than was proposed.
In their consultation, our council’s draft scheme suggested that 35% of the bill would not be eligible for benefit. The council have now announced that the minimum payment will be 8.5%. I’ve not seen the details, but it seems that many empty homes discounts etc will be removed.
Edit:
I should note, the council have set the scheme to take advantage of the one-off transitional grant that the government announced at the last minute. This will not be available in 2014/5.
hi - thanks for alerting us to the confirmed craven scheme- i’ve added it to our council tax support toolkit page -
http://www.rightsnet.org.uk/toolkit/council_tax_support
cheers ros