Each year the City Council must decide whether to change the Council Tax Reduction scheme for working age applicants in its area. There are no changes for Pension Age applicants as they are part of the national scheme. This year the Council is deciding whether to significantly change the working age Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
Across the Council's area, currently around 10,990 Council Tax payers receive Council Tax Reduction of which 7469 are of working age.
The gross cost of the scheme is spread across the Council (15.02%), Lancashire County Council (70.20%), the Police and Crime Commissioner (11.18%) and the Fire & Rescue Service (3.6%) in accordance with the proportion of Council Tax which each organisation levies (which is shown in brackets). Currently, the total cost of the scheme is around £11.91m, with around £7.32m supporting working age households. The proposed scheme costs are estimated at £13.73m.
We are legally required to consult on any proposed changes to the scheme and we’re asking you to take part in this consultation to find out what you think about our proposed Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which would start from 1 April 2025. We want to:
- increase the level of support for households on the lowest incomes; and
- make changes to the scheme to disregard certain capital payments arising from recent changes in legislation
Thank you for taking the time to share your views. It should take around 10 minutes to fill in this consultation.