Torbay residents are being invited to have their say on our proposed changes to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme.

The scheme helps people on low incomes to pay their council tax and is funded by the council.

The initial scheme was introduced in April 2013, when the Government ended Council Tax Benefit and councils were made responsible for their own schemes.  Further changes were made over a two year period from 2017/18, but have remained largely unchanged since then.

This year we are proposing to introduce a new income banded scheme for working age households that will be less complex and easier to understand.  This type of scheme has proved to be very popular across the UK with a number of them in Devon.

Pension Age households will not be affected by these proposed changes as they are part of the national scheme, set by the Government.

The new scheme will have a more modern approach, where the current means tested scheme will be replaced by a simple income grid model, where household composition and net income will apply a percentage reduction to the Council Tax liability.

Councillor Alan Tyerman, Cabinet Member for Housing, Finance and Corporate Services, said: “It’s really important that as many people in Torbay have their say on these proposed changes to Council Tax Support.

“Our aim is to improve the application process for the customer, make the scheme easier to manage, reduce the time taken from completing the application to receiving a Council Tax bill, and reduce the number of reassessments of awards.”

The consultation started on Monday 2 October and it closes on Sunday 12 November.

More information about the scheme proposals and a link to the online survey can be found here. 

A paper copy can be requested by emailing consultation@torbay.gov.uk