Consultation on proposed changes to the Local Council Tax Reduction scheme for Reading 2022/23

Overview

Reading’s Local Council Tax Reduction (LCTR) scheme began on 1 April 2013, when the Government abolished the national Council Tax Benefit Scheme.

Our scheme helps “working age” people who have a low income, or no income, pay their Council Tax.

Pensioners are protected under separate legislation, and are not affected by our scheme, or the proposed changes that are the subject of this consultation.

Why your views matter

We are considering changes to our Local Council Tax Reduction scheme for 2022/23 following feedback on the current scheme and a review of our administration process.

If we want to make changes to the scheme, we need to ask you about it first. We want to hear the views of everyone, this will ensure that you have had your say and have helped us shape any potential changes to our scheme.

We need to hear from you to ensure that we make the best possible use of the money we have available whilst still providing this valuable support to the most vulnerable. Each proposal presents an additional cost to the authority and has been estimated as follows:

• Proposal 1 – Changes to the amount of Council Tax Support
  The estimated cost of this proposal ranges from £360k to £720k dependant on the overall annual tax increase and the value of the minimum payment contribution
   
• Proposal 2 – Removal of minimum support levels
  The estimated cost of this proposal is £12k
   
• Proposal 3 – Change to capital limit
  The estimated cost of this proposal is £114k
   
• Proposal 4 – Backdating Council Tax Support/Reduction
  The estimated cost of this proposal is negligible
   
• Proposal 5 – change to non-dependant deductions
  The estimated cost of this proposal is £13k

We have not made any final decisions about the proposed changes to our Local Council Tax Reduction scheme. Your views and ideas will help us make these decisions.

The proposals for consultation were presented to Policy Committee on 23 September 2021, you can read the full report here

This consultation is open to all stakeholders, which includes everyone who lives, works or studies in Reading and wants to take part.

This online consultation is open from 27 September 2021 and closes on 21 November 2021.

What happens next

After the closing date we will consider all the feedback we receive when finalising our Council Tax Support Scheme for 2022/23.

We can implement more than one option or vary the scheme depending on the feedback we receive.

The Council will make a final decision on the Scheme before 31st January 2022. A copy of the new Scheme will be published on the website.