Council tax: Council considers plan that could mean bonus of hundreds of pounds

Local councils worried about council tax rebate scams

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North Yorkshire councils are currently discussing the introduction of a single set of council tax policies which will apply to all areas across the region when a new unitary council takes over next April 2023. As announced last year, the existing seven district and borough councils in the northeast region will be merged into one. The current structure sees different approaches administered across North Yorkshire’s existing seven district and borough councils, which are the authorities responsible for the billing of council tax.

Currently, not all aspects of council tax are the same in each district and the way discounts are applied also varies across the county.

The report which is being discussed sets out how the new council tax reduction scheme will be introduced.

The proposed scheme is expected to increase the overall level of support for the lowest income households.

It also aims to try and reduce the administrative burden placed on the new council with the introduction of Universal Credit.

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One of the main proposals being discussed is to extend the council tax discount to 100 percent for all those on low-income households.

This will be available to all those who are of working age.

At the moment three North Yorkshire districts require working-age applicants to pay a minimum amount of up to 12.5 percent of a total council tax bill.

Whilst the remaining local authorities allow working age applicants up to 100 percent financial support for their council tax bills.

The move could mean that people across the region will have access to extra cash each month, with some having access to hundreds of extra pounds.

The council also found that the majority of low-income households were unable to afford to contribute the 12.5 percent placed on them had only resulted in additional collection costs for councils.

These costs included court and enforcement action and, in some cases, the amounts demanded have been written off as uncollectable.

The northeast council stated that the enforcement action “no longer made it economically viable to collect outstanding payments from those receiving relief”.

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Deputy leader and executive member for finance, Cllr Gareth Dadd stated that this just “highlighted the benefits” of unitary as it was “bit of a postcode lottery” for benefits available to residents in the region.

He said: “The move to streamline how we provide such an important scheme will benefit thousands of people across North Yorkshire.

“Rising costs have affected us all, but it is those who are on the lowest incomes who are feeling the effects the most.

“This new scheme will be essential to ensure that they are given the greatest amount of support possible.

“The new approach to providing the council tax reduction scheme will not only make it easier for people to apply for support, but it will also help streamline its administration when the new council launches next year.

“As a council, we are committed to helping the most vulnerable in society, both financially and socially, and the proposed new scheme will be an important addition to that mission.”

The cost of introducing the new scheme is expected to be £38million, and will require an additional £2.3million for it to be delivered when compared to the current structure.

The support for low-income households will largely be funded by the proposed £2million of council tax on empty properties and second homes.

This is also currently being considered as part of legislation compiled in the Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

This legislation, which has not yet received royal assent, will let local authorities introduce premiums on council tax bills for second homes and empty properties.

North Yorkshire council stated that the move to do this was dependent on whether the Government will pass the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.

The council believes that the proposals would lead to “significant savings in administration”.

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