Have your say on changes to our income-banded Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) Scheme.
If you live or work in Bath and North East Somerset, have your say on our proposals to increase the thresholds which determine how much support certain residents receive with their Council Tax bills.
The current scheme for people who receive Universal Credit
In 2017/2018, we introduced an income-banded Council Tax support scheme for residents who receive Universal Credit.
Currently, residents receive a set discount based on their weekly income. The discount is applied based on the following income bands:
Current Council Tax support based on weekly income
| Basic weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £99.99 | 90% |
| £100.00 to £199.99 | 85% |
| £200.00 to £299.99 | 80% |
| £300.00 to £349.99 | 70% |
| £350.00 to £399.99 | 50% |
| £400.00 or more | 0% |
Please note that these income allowances are increased by an additional £25 if the resident lives with their partner, and £50 per child, up to a maximum of an additional £125 per week.
Our proposed changes
The Government have announced that from April 2023, most Welfare Benefits rates, including Universal Credit, will be increased by 10.1%
We are proposing to increase our income bands for the LCTS in line with this figure. This will allow residents to keep more of their income, while still being eligible for support. The proposed new income band values would take effect from April 2023.
The discount would therefore be applied based on the following, revised income bands:
Proposed Council Tax support based on weekly income
| Basic weekly income allowance | Discount |
|---|---|
| £0.00 to £110.09 | 90% |
| £110.10 to £220.19 | 85% |
| £220.20 to £330.29 | 80% |
| £330.30 to £385.34 | 70% |
| £385.35 to £440.39 | 50% |
| £440.40 or more | 0% |
Why we are proposing these changes
We are proposing these changes to our income bands for the LCTS for the following reasons:
People who do not receive Universal Credit will see increases in their Council Tax support income allowances in line with other Welfare Benefit rates.
If we do not increase the income bands for people who receive Universal Credit, this group of residents would be disadvantaged.
We want to ensure that residents living under different rules are treated fairly whenever possible.
With the September 2022 Consumer Price Index running at 10.1%, cost of living pressures are particularly high, mainly driven by increases in the costs of food. Low-income households are more vulnerable to these price shifts and we want to focus our support on these residents.
With the increase in national Welfare Benefit rates, some households would receive an increase in their Universal Credit. This means they may fall into a higher income band and will therefore qualify for less support, or even cease to receive Council Tax support at all. This could put more pressure on the already tight budgets of low-income households in our area.
The provision of LCTS will be maintained at current levels and any costs that arise as a result of the proposed changes will be assessed against the 2023 to 2024 budget and incorporated into future plans.
Have your say
The consultation is open from Wednesday 14 December 2022 and will close at 5pm on Friday 20 January 2023.
What happens next
We will collect and analyse all responses to this consultation to help us make a decision on whether to adopt the proposed changes. This decision will be made by Full Council in the budget and Council Tax meeting on 21 February 2023.
If you need more information, please email our Welfare Support Manager at Damien_Peak@bathnes.gov.uk.