Hounslow Holding Consultation on Council Tax Support Change
Thousands of residents look set to lose out on discount
Council says some will get more and some will get less under the new system
September 26, 2024
Hounslow residents may have their council tax support slashed under new proposals to help close a £30million budget gap. If approved, the plans would see thousands of people lose out on their current discount and everyone of working age paying something towards their bill – although pensioners would be unaffected by the changes.
The plans will go out to public consultation first, with a final decision expected to be made in line with Hounslow Council’s budget being approved in February 2025. The new charges would then apply from April 1, 2025.
At an Overview and Scrutiny meeting the Leader of Hounslow Council, Councillor Shantanu Rajawat said, “We can’t ignore the fact … we have got a £30 million shortfall in the budget. We have to make sure that the scheme is affordable in the context of the overall budget and the challenges we face.
“As an administration we wouldn’t want to make any changes but we have to be very alive to the fact that there is a financial challenge and therefore everything is on the table.”
Under current measures, if you earn below £2,000 per month in your household you are eligible for some form of council tax support, though this is tapered according to your earnings. Households earning under £2,000 would be expected to pay £175 a month towards their council tax. The average Hounslow council tax bill in 2024/25 is £199.10 a month based on it being paid over 10 months with the standard payment break in February and March.
Households earning under £1,500 currently pay £125 a month towards the bill. For those earning under £1,000 it’s £80 while incomes under £500 pay £40 and those earning under £250 pay nothing.
In addition to this, if someone lives alone they can get a 25% reduction in their bill through the single person discount. The single person discount would remain in place under the new proposals but the maximum a single person could earn whilst receiving support would be £1,039.20 per month. This amount would increase with house size. This element alone is expected to see 600 households lose their council tax support.
Another proposed change affects households earning between £0-£250 per month. Currently, these people pay no council tax, however if these proposals are approved, everyone would have to pay something. The amount would depend on their household (single person, couple, parent and child etc). This is expected to see 8,000 forced to pay council tax who currently do not.
If a single person was earning below £250 a month they would currently not be paying any council tax and under the proposals would be required to start paying £29.03 a month from April 2025. If their earnings increased to between £346.41 and £500 they would see their council tax go from £40 a month under the current scheme to £46.45 if the new scheme is introduced.
Those in receipt of carers’ allowance would also be affected by these measures. They would be required to pay 10 per cent of their council tax. This is expected to affect 2,000 households. Despite these cuts, there are some changes which will see some people receive further support. Currently the level of support provided by the council does not consider the number of people in a household.
Under new proposals, the level of support will increase to reflect the size of the household. Therefore households with more people will receive more support to reflect the higher household costs. The changes proposed would not affect pensioners in any way. These measures would only affect working age claimants of council tax support. The level of income to qualify for support is also proposed to be uplifted in line with inflation to ensure that those who receive an inflationary pay rise do not lose out.
A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said, “We would like to change the way we support residents with their council tax payments from April 2025 and we would encourage anyone receiving Council Tax Support to respond to our consultation and share feedback.
“The proposed changes mean some residents could receive more support, and some would receive less. The focus will be on ensuring families, larger households and carers receive the vital support they need. We also want to ensure our funding is targeted to those who need it most. The proposals also request feedback on a dedicated hardship fund, which will offer support to residents who might struggle with any increase in payments.”
The council has launched an online calculator whereby residents can find out how the proposals would affect their household by answering a ten minute questionnaire. Full details on the proposals can be found here.
The consultation is expected to go live in the next week and end on Friday, 22 November, at 5pm. Once the consultation is open residents will be able to take part both in person and online on the Let’s Talk Hounslow website.
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter