Proposed changes to council tax reduction scheme out for consultation

Changes to the scheme that provides reductions in Council Tax to low-income workers people in Wirral are being proposed to bring the borough’s scheme in line with other authorities in the Liverpool City Region.

Wirral Council introduced the Council Tax reduction scheme in 2013 replacing the central Government-funded Council Tax benefits scheme – and it has not been changed since.

Council Tax reduction provides residents on lower incomes with a discount on their Council Tax bill; the actual level of discount being based on the income of the household.

Over time, however, with better and more integrated systems and information sharing with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), often small changes to a claimant’s income were triggering a reassessment of the level of the Council Tax reduction and a recalculation of monthly instalments.

This was causing confusion amongst residents and delays and errors in payments as their bill could change and need to be reissued up to 12 times a year if their income was fluctuating even slightly. This is also a significant administrative burden for the authority.

Public consultation is now underway on a number of proposed changes to the current scheme, including the introduction of wider income thresholds bands and changes to the minimum payment for some working age groups.

Changes are also proposed that seek to maximise the use of automated systems to make processing more reliable and reduce the risk of errors. They would also make it more accessible and easier to understand for claimants. 

As they would also reduce the number of changes during the year, they would remove some of the administrative burden and, overall, save the council money when compared to the existing scheme.

Wirral’s scheme would then be more closely aligned with those across the City Region in ensuring all Working Age Claimants contribute, whilst remaining one of the lowest in terms of the minimum they will be asked to pay.

The consultation is open to all residents and interested groups and is open until 13th December 2024. To take part, visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WIRRALCTRFINAL