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Proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme 2020/21

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Overview

The Council Tax Support scheme is the council’s discount scheme that helps people on low incomes pay their Council Tax. Residents and stakeholders are being invited to have their say on our proposed 2020/21 Council Tax Support scheme.

You can view the draft Council Council Tax Support Scheme 2020/21 here. The overall scheme is the same as last year, with some minor technical changes to reflect welfare reform changes, along with two changes to improve the scheme in respect of Council Tax Support start dates and Local Authority error overpayments.

The following Windrush Compensation Scheme changes are proposed for the 2020/21 Council Tax Support scheme:

  • disregarding any income from the Windrush Compensation scheme, and
  • disregarding any lump sum payments from the Windrush Compensation scheme

Details of the Windrush Compensation Scheme can be found online here.

Further proposed improvements to the scheme are:

  • to introduce the option for residents to apply for a Discretionary Council Tax Hardship payment to offset local authority Council Tax Support over-payments, where it is assumed the resident could not have been reasonably expected to know they were being overpaid. A decision will be made on hardship.
  • award Council Tax Support from the start date of Council Tax liability if an application is made within the same week of the liability start date. This is in line with Housing Benefit regulations.

In summary, the new proposal would see:

  • any income and capital payments in relation to the Windrush Compensation scheme disregarded for Council Tax Support. Mirroring Housing Benefit Regulations.
  • the ability to apply capital disregards in respect of future schemes, when capital payments are disregarded under Housing Benefit regulations.
  • the ability to offset any over-payment of Council Tax Support caused due to Local Authority error where the resident could not have been expected to know they had been overpaid. This will be done via a Discretionary Council Tax Hardship application and assessed on a resident’s hardship.
  • allow Council Tax Support from the start of the residents Council Tax liability when an application for CTS is made during the same week.

Give us your views

We would like to hear your views on the proposals. To have your say please email your comments to CouncilTaxSupportConsultation@barnet.gov.uk. You can feed back your comments until 10 January 2020.

Overview

The Council Tax Support scheme is the council’s discount scheme that helps people on low incomes pay their Council Tax. Residents and stakeholders are being invited to have their say on our proposed 2020/21 Council Tax Support scheme.

You can view the draft Council Council Tax Support Scheme 2020/21 here. The overall scheme is the same as last year, with some minor technical changes to reflect welfare reform changes, along with two changes to improve the scheme in respect of Council Tax Support start dates and Local Authority error overpayments.

The following Windrush Compensation Scheme changes are proposed for the 2020/21 Council Tax Support scheme:

  • disregarding any income from the Windrush Compensation scheme, and
  • disregarding any lump sum payments from the Windrush Compensation scheme

Details of the Windrush Compensation Scheme can be found online here.

Further proposed improvements to the scheme are:

  • to introduce the option for residents to apply for a Discretionary Council Tax Hardship payment to offset local authority Council Tax Support over-payments, where it is assumed the resident could not have been reasonably expected to know they were being overpaid. A decision will be made on hardship.
  • award Council Tax Support from the start date of Council Tax liability if an application is made within the same week of the liability start date. This is in line with Housing Benefit regulations.

In summary, the new proposal would see:

  • any income and capital payments in relation to the Windrush Compensation scheme disregarded for Council Tax Support. Mirroring Housing Benefit Regulations.
  • the ability to apply capital disregards in respect of future schemes, when capital payments are disregarded under Housing Benefit regulations.
  • the ability to offset any over-payment of Council Tax Support caused due to Local Authority error where the resident could not have been expected to know they had been overpaid. This will be done via a Discretionary Council Tax Hardship application and assessed on a resident’s hardship.
  • allow Council Tax Support from the start of the residents Council Tax liability when an application for CTS is made during the same week.

Give us your views

We would like to hear your views on the proposals. To have your say please email your comments to CouncilTaxSupportConsultation@barnet.gov.uk. You can feed back your comments until 10 January 2020.