We need your views on Shropshire’s draft council tax support scheme

Shropshire residents are being encouraged to have their say on proposals of a new council tax benefit support scheme. 

Residents’ views are being sought in response to central government abolishing the current council tax benefit from 1 April 2013.  The Government is asking councils to replace it with their own locally-run service called a Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme. 

The Government will also significantly cut funding for the new scheme.  Current council tax benefit expenditure in Shropshire is £19.7m, and early estimates suggest that the money that Shropshire Council will get to fund the new scheme will be cut by around £2.17m.  This reduction in funding means that the council has to make some difficult decisions about who gets financial support and how much.

Council tax benefit  is a national scheme that helps those people with low incomes to pay their council tax.  The Government sets the rules regarding who can claim, and how much benefit they receive.

Currently, Shropshire has 22,869 residents who qualify for council tax benefit.  Out of these, 45% are of working age and 55% are pensioners.  The Government has said people who are eligible for their state pension will not be affected by the introduction of a local Council Tax Support scheme.

Gwilym Butler, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for flourishing Shropshire communities, said:

“We want to assure those affected that, as a council, we remain committed to helping them in these difficult times by providing targeted support to the most vulnerable following these changes.  We have worked hard to come up with proposals that will help to close the gap in funding.  We really want to hear our residents’ views on these proposals, and encourage as many people as possible to respond to this consultation.”

You can get involved online here.  Closing date for the survey is Friday 14 December 2012.

If you’d like to see how the CTS scheme may affect you click here.

Responses from businesses, voluntary sector groups and advice agencies are also welcome.