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changes to Council Tax Benefit
Murphymycat
Posts: 197 Forumite
Hi all
As I am sure many of you are aware, the way Council Tax benefits are Paid is changing from next April.
I have just had a letter from the council (Mid Devon) outlining the changes. MDC is proposing the following
Maximum CTB anyone can claim will be 75% Currently 100%
Limiting the amount of CTB to a band D. Currently unlimited
Reducing the amount of savings from £16000 to £6000
Stopping Second Adult Rebate
Additional support for exceptional cases of hardship/vulnerability
So, what are people's views. Have other Councils contacted people yet?
MDC have asked us to complete a questionnaire about how these changes may affect us individually before they make a final decision but I don't think they will actually change their minds.
They have told us they have to find £600,000 in savings and they don't want to raise council tax again.
My house mate who is retired so won't be affected suggests that they should find this amount by top slicing salary from senior council employees who earn umpteen pounds per annum. Can't see them doing that either!!
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
As I am sure many of you are aware, the way Council Tax benefits are Paid is changing from next April.
I have just had a letter from the council (Mid Devon) outlining the changes. MDC is proposing the following
Maximum CTB anyone can claim will be 75% Currently 100%
Limiting the amount of CTB to a band D. Currently unlimited
Reducing the amount of savings from £16000 to £6000
Stopping Second Adult Rebate
Additional support for exceptional cases of hardship/vulnerability
So, what are people's views. Have other Councils contacted people yet?
MDC have asked us to complete a questionnaire about how these changes may affect us individually before they make a final decision but I don't think they will actually change their minds.
They have told us they have to find £600,000 in savings and they don't want to raise council tax again.
My house mate who is retired so won't be affected suggests that they should find this amount by top slicing salary from senior council employees who earn umpteen pounds per annum. Can't see them doing that either!!
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
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Comments
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Do these changes affect people who live in Scotland?0
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I think that sounds fair - but then I am not affected so it's easier to find that view.0
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Some sensible changes there on the face of it.:j Trytryagain FLYLADY - SAYE £700 each month Premium Bonds £713 Mortgage Was £100,000@20/6/08 now zilch 21/4/15:beer: WTL - 52 (I'll do it 4 MUM)0
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Sounds reasonable - especially limiting the amount of CTB to a band D.0
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We were contacted last week (newcastle upon tyne) and they asked our views on the changes. The main questions being should discounts be taken away from people with more than one property,property that they are doing structual work on, people with young children and people with disabilities. They are going to be having some meetings in the local area too regarding the changes.0
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Sounds reasonable - especially limiting the amount of CTB to a band D.
I agree with this. People who can't afford to live in large houses they no longer need should move free up their money and make available a larger home to someone who needs it and can afford to live there.:j Trytryagain FLYLADY - SAYE £700 each month Premium Bonds £713 Mortgage Was £100,000@20/6/08 now zilch 21/4/15:beer: WTL - 52 (I'll do it 4 MUM)0 -
The murmers of our council are that they are going to reband - Hitting home owners (many of us who haven't had a penny pay rise in years or even pay cuts due to redundancy) and giving more to those on benefits.
I'm not a fan - others will think it's a fantastic suggestion of course.0 -
Murphymycat wrote: »...
Maximum CTB anyone can claim will be 75% Currently 100%
Limiting the amount of CTB to a band D. Currently unlimited
Reducing the amount of savings from £16000 to £6000
Stopping Second Adult Rebate
Additional support for exceptional cases of hardship/vulnerability
Seems quite a complicated way of doing it because there are so many variables, and so much extra checking to do.
Perhaps a rule that 'Maximum CTB is now x% for all' would be the simplest, though I expect there would be an outcry on behalf of various social groups, like the disabled.
I know that local councils have discretion on how they managed this but never predicted that they would target expensive, albeit,cash poor properties by bringing in exclusions for council tax band E and higher.
It's going to be hard for a household on JSA as their sole benefit to find up to a tenner a week out of it for council tax.
Why not post your local councils proposal in the Discussion Time forum to generate a chat about how people think it should run?0 -
This specific measure doesn't affect Scotland (or Wales/NI for that matter) - just the whole of England. Devolved administrations are doing their own thing.
There are two buts. One is that Government cuts the money that pays for the Benefit by 10%. Second is that Government will protect the 100% discount for ALL pensioners (including the very wealthy in mansions). That means two things:
i) the cut falls disproportionately on working-age people;
ii) the increasing number of older people means in the long-term, council tax (for those working-age people) will rise significantly.
Some rough calculations I saw showed it rising for Band D from about £1268p.a. at the mo to about £1800-£2200 in the next five years. Funnily enough, most of this comes after the next General Election (whoever wins) when I guess politicians hope for as much of a wealthy pensioner vote as possible!
All councils are having to come up with their own schemes for how to share the pain. The proposals you mention from Mid-Devon sound pretty regular.
So if you claim Council Tax Benefit, going from paying £0 to around £1500p.a. (Band D) / £1200 (Band
is a fair whack!
... And it's jail if you don't!0 -
shop-to-drop wrote: »I agree with this. People who can't afford to live in large houses they no longer need should move free up their money and make available a larger home to someone who needs it and can afford to live there.
Not quite true.
Pensioners will retain their 100% rebate so no pressure at all to move. In fact, it's in their interest to stay and rattle around.
Of course, when their care bills need to be paid, I'm sure they'll be delighted to be abused "the Winterbourne View way"!0
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