Changes Proposed to Council Tax Reduction Scheme
Council says they will benefit thousands of low-income households
Process would be 'more transparent and simpler to understand'
October 27, 2023
Wandsworth Council is proposing changes to its Council Tax Reduction (CTR) Scheme which it says will help thousands more residents in the borough and make it fairer.
The main change is that a maximum income would be introduced for those that qualify for support although overall the proposals will mean more money being disbursed through the scheme if it is introduced as planned next April.
The council is making these changes because over the next few years, working-age residents in receipt of CTR will transition over to Universal Credit. It believes a simplified and stabilised alternative scheme will remove administrative burdens for both working-age claimants and the Wandsworth local authority.
Residents are being invited to have their say on the plans for the CTR. The council says that the proposed change will reduce the impact of income fluctuations within a household, be clearer and easier to understand for residents and to protect the most vulnerable residents by reducing bills.
Alongside the proposal, the Council has frozen the main element of Council Tax this year and launched a £10 million fund, the biggest in London, to help residents with increased bills.
Angela Ireland, Cabinet Member for Finance, said that this year the CTR scheme reduced bills to zero for almost ten thousand vulnerable households.
“We want to build on that and make sure our scheme is future proofed to enable more people to plan ahead with their money whilst also having trust in the council that we are here to help them when it matters.
“This consultation will give the people of Wandsworth a good opportunity to help shape the Council Tax Reduction Scheme moving forward and we encourage residents to have their say.
“We want to look after those most vulnerable in our community by making the process more transparent and simpler to understand, whilst providing additional support to households who are financially vulnerable.
“By doing this, we will continue to take steps towards becoming a fairer and more compassionate borough.
“We hope the outcome of the consultation will give residents certainty and protection of current support levels.”
The proposals are open for public feedback until 15 November 2023.
Take part in the consultation
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |