Express & Star

Review into council tax support in Wolverhampton completed

A review of the way in which Wolverhampton’s civic leaders support the city’s residents in paying council tax has finished.

Published
Wolverhampton Civic Centre

Since the government stopped council tax benefit in April 2013, each council has introduced its own council tax support scheme.

The housing benefit scheme closed for most new claims in Wolverhampton in December 2017, with support for housing costs instead provided through universal credit administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

A spokesman for Wolverhampton City Council said: “The aim of this consultation was to consider the options available to address some of the expected impacts of the roll-out of universal credit on the local council tax support scheme.

“Universal credit is different from other benefits such as income support, jobseekers allowance (JSA) and employment and support allowance (ESA) because it is paid monthly in arrears and is based on real time information about a claimant’s circumstances, such as hours worked, etcetera.

“This means that the amount of universal credit paid can vary from month to month.

“Under the current council tax support scheme, each time there is a change in the amount of universal credit received, council tax support must also be adjusted. Every month there could be a recalculation of council tax support even for very small changes and an amended council tax bill issued.

“This could cause confusion for customers if they regularly need to change their payment arrangements. It will also increase the council’s administration and postage costs.

“The move to universal credit is now a key factor that needs to be taken into account when looking at the council tax support scheme for 2019/20 and beyond,” he added.

Wolverhampton Council is now considering two proposals following completion of the consultation before any changes are made to the council tax support scheme in April 2019.

The scheme only applies to working age households, and Wolverhampton currently has about 14,000 working age customers who receive council tax support. Pensioners will not be affected by the proposed changes.

By Joe Sweeney

Local Democracy Reporter