Councillors have acted to reduce the impact of the original proposals, which were the subject of a public consultation, but they still accept that the measures being introduced will still cause concern for residents affected.
“The new scheme has taken the concerns into consideration, where possible, and does include provision to provide discretionary awards to the most vulnerable council tax payers such as those facing exceptional financial hardship,” said a council spokeswoman.
“The new scheme also includes consideration of child maintenance income, which was previously disregarded in full. The new scheme only disregards child maintenance income at a rate of £65.62 per week per child, so income of less than £65.62 per week per child is not taken into account when assessing council tax benefit.”
“The changes only apply to working age residents who are currently in receipt of Council Tax Benefit or need to apply for support in the future. Pension age residents receiving Council Tax Benefit are not affected by the changes.”
She added that Council Tax Support for working age households will be broadly based on the principles and rules used under the current national means-tested scheme for Council Tax Benefit. There are however some key areas where the scheme will differ:
A limit to maximum support amounting to 85% of actual council tax liability for customers living in Bands A, B, C or D dwellings i.e. Customers in these bands will need to pay a minimum of 15% of their council tax charge.
For those living in properties in Bands E, F, G, or H maximum support will be limited to 85% of an equivalent Band D dwelling
Child maintenance income previously disregarded in full will now be disregarded at a rate of £65.62 per week per child, so income less than this level is not taken into account.
A minimum entitlement level of £1 per week. This means those people currently entitled to support between £0.01p and £0.99p a week will not receive support.
Further information is available from Sedgemoor District Council on 0845 408 2541.
