Hoorah! Councils improve their online live-in Carer Council Tax discount information

MSE_Kit

Unpaid carers finally have clearer information on their eligibility for the live-in Carer Council Tax discount, as 69 councils have improved their websites following a MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) campaign. Yet it's crucial for carers who thought they weren't eligible due to councils' misinformation to check again, to make sure they're not missing out on vital support.

Read the full story:

'Hoorah! We named and shamed 69 councils over incorrect Carers Council Tax Discount info – now all have fixed it'

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Cornishmaid6373

I’m still being told by Cornwall council that I’m not eligible. Looking at this chart I think we are?

There are 3 of us living in the house.
my husband who works full time. My 91 year old mother who is smi, has Parkinson’s dementia and receives attendance allowance, and me who is my mothers full time carer as mum is totally reliant on me for absolutely everything, from lifting, washing, feeding, dressing, etc etc . I cannot work as mum cannot be left at all.

I keep being told I do not qualify and they refuse to listen to my explanation. I have now complained and am waiting for a response.

Am I missing something???

MSE_Kit

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81997331#Comment_81997331

Hi Cornish Maid,

From the information you've shared, I believe your household should be entitled to a 25% council tax discount as:

• Your mum is disregarded for being SMI
• You are disregarded for being a live-in carer
• Your husband qualifies for council tax
• All in all, meaning there is just one qualifying adult in the household (and the full council tax bill only applies where there are at least two qualifying adults in the household).

Therefore, theoretically, your household should qualify for the 'single person' council tax discount, which means your household would pay 25% less than you do now.

Kit

Cornishmaid6373

I have emailed a complaint to Cornwall council stating what you have said so now I just have to wait for a reply. What amazed me more than the call handler not knowing this was the way in which she treated me and her refusal to send me the forms!!!!

greenspark

So frustrating to read that it has taken so long for all these councils to show people the correct information.

In 2019 my local council claimed that the carers discount did not apply if the person being cared for was receiving the lower rate of Attendance Allowance. I sought advice from a local carers organisation who found the regulation showing that the discount did apply for the lower rate. I took this information to the council and they agreed and gave me the discount (as my mum's live-in carer).

Yet they are on this list as one of the councils who has been showing the wrong information all this time, even though there must have been some awareness that it was wrong (I and likely others had raised it with them). Carers would have been reading that all this time and not applying for the discount, as they were wrongly being informed they were not entitled to it - that could be thousands of pounds each household has lost.