SOME of the most vulnerable residents in Somerset, including those who are disabled and carers, could be saved from the worst effects of proposed Council Tax cuts. 

Somerset Council is bringing forward proposals which protect its 100% Council Tax discount for working age residents on the lowest incomes.

Somerset’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTR) was first adopted in 2023, which brought in a 100% Council Tax discount across the county for the first time. CTR is a discount offered for Council Taxpayers on low incomes.

By November 2023, as part of several measures to find savings in response to the financial emergency, Somerset Council had agreed to a review of the CTR for 2025/26.

Somerset Council maintains that the proposed changes would only apply to working age adults, as the support provided for people of state pension age would not be affected as it is mandated by government.

The initial changes proposed would have saved the council around £12.1m a year.

However, many of these proposals, such as those which protect carers and disabled residents, were removed by the council’s Executive in July this year.

A public consultation was then held to seek views on changes, which could have saved up to £6m by reducing the level of discounts on offer.

Following feedback from the public and the Council’s Scrutiny process, the revised proposals now being considered would help the Council save £3.9m a year and avoid the worst impact on the most vulnerable. These measures include:

  • Protecting the 100% discount offered to working age adults on the very lowest incomes, while reducing the other discount bands to 50%, 25% and 10%.
  • Continuing the current system of exempting certain income, such as that from disability benefits, carers allowance and child benefit, as well as the first £25 of employment income from the income calculations.
  • Retaining the policy of providing a discount to care leavers, foster carers and special guardians (but funding it from the Exceptional Hardship scheme).
  • Reducing the discount by £10 per week for each non-dependent adult living in a property.
  • Limiting the discount available to the maximum available for a band D property.
  • Reducing the period of backdating claims to one calendar month.

Following last year’s decision to increase the scheme’s income thresholds in line with the CPI rate of inflation (6.7%), the Council is also proposing to increase the income thresholds by inflation this year.

Cllr Liz Leyshon, Somerset Council’s Lead Executive Member for Resources, said: “We have had to consider many heart-breaking decisions in response to the financial emergency and there are few more difficult than this.”

“However, with our budgets continuing to remain under extreme pressure, we have a duty to look across all areas of spending to find savings, however difficult and unpalatable they may be.”

“We’ve listened to the public feedback and have taken steps to protect many of the discounts on offer. We are committed to supporting our most vulnerable residents and that is why we are proposing to keep the 100% discount for those most in need and working to ensure our residents receive the maximum support to which they are entitled.”

Whilst central government sets the rules for discounts for Council Tax-payers of pension age, each council sets its own scheme of income-related discounts for working-age Council Tax-payers. Central government no longer funds either scheme.

The proposals will be debated at the Corporate and Resources Scrutiny meeting on November, 25, 2024 and at the Executive, held on December 2, before a final decision is made by Full Council on 18 December.