To those migrating to UC be warned about council tax support
Just thought I'd give a head up to those moving to UC that your council tax may be reduced on UC mum moved from ESA to UC and once the council knows about the move as UC tells them we got am email to tell us that now she's moved to UC her council tax support is being reduced from 100% to 80% and will get a new bill soon.
No one told us about this so we weren't aware so thought I'd let others know so you know before hand.
Comments
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Hello @sunflower2. Thank you for posting this.
It is definitely important for people to be aware of. Most councils no longer do 100% council tax support, and many people are finding themselves responsible for more than before. I would also add it is worth going through the council tax credit award letter with a fine tooth comb as it is not uncommon for them to miscalculate.
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it’s been ‘no longer 100%’ (unless pensioner) for a number of years.
court cases were escalating (non payment) for those that were on 0% contribution moved to 15% or 20% or so householder contribution.
apparently some councils are asking for 50% or even 75% householder contribution to help balance their books.
as UC is not a passported benefit councils may ask for more contributions to.0 -
Mine has always been 100% and still is. I never have to pay council tax as I get a full award and not a pensioner.
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I am not sure if it is regional, but it is certainly true in my area that migration to UC is impacting whether people pay CT/how much CT they pay.
It is worth checking in with your CT department and finding out what their regulations currently are.0 -
My local council offers a 100% CTR award, it's a 90% standard discount and they've chosen (from discretionary funds) to bump that up to 100% for certain people of working age.
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Angus Council doesn't charge me Council Tax, but I pay about £30pcm "Water and Sewerage". We don't have water meters in Scotland.
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Fortunate for you.
Since 2013 CTR localisation changed Council Tax contributions for the majority. (I think worse if your council had more pensioners, so the scheme was less generous for Working Age Claimants)
https://ifs.org.uk/news/cuts-support-mean-13-million-more-low-income-households-get-council-tax-bill-quarter-extra-tax
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Your claim is not correct at all, and therefore is misleading outright.
The reduction of your mother's council tax support has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with her migration from the ESA to the UC.
For your information, Council Tax Support/Council Tax Reduction is a means tested benefit. Your income, including savings, pensions, etc., are taken into account. Therefore, the reduction has certainly to do with this rather the migration.
Hope this has shed a bit of light on your case.
P.S. All councils in England and, probably, Wales, offer 100% council tax support to people on low income or claim benefits, reducing their council tax bill by up to 100%.
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Our income hasn't changed except for moving to UC and she has no savings or pensions.
Even on our councils website it says that if you migrate to UC you will have your council tax support reduced.
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Council tax is decided locally by each local council, the rules for that are not the same nationally, so it's impossible to compare across the country.
Also, many councils treat UC income differently to the way they treated legacy benefits. That is why some people have to pay more council tax on UC than they did on ESA etc. In my area, it is not calculated differently, I still got exactly the same discount after my migration.
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"many councils treat UC income differently to the way they treated legacy benefits. That is why some people have to pay more council tax on UC than they did on ESA etc."
This is absolutely false, I'm afraid.
Council tax is a local tax and not a national tax; hence its variation between areas. But the eligibility for council tax reduction or council tax support (as it's no longer called council tax benefit since 2013), is national. Not a single council across England and Wales does treat UC differently from ESA. Eligibility for council tax reduction/support has nothing to do with the nickname of one's social security payment, but whether this is a means-tested benefit or not.
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You need to speak to the council tax section of your local council.
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There are many threads and posts on here showing how council tax reduction is now calculated differently by various councils across the country. Many now include things like LCWRA and Housing Element as income, whereas previously they did not. This is not simply about the eligibility, it's also about the level of reduction that is applied, based on the level of income. Many people do have to pay more council tax after migrating to UC, that's been shown on here so many times. I don't know how you can possibly dispute that.
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I believe this confusion is only faced by people on the new style ESA or those receiving a transitional protection, as this can put me in the higher earning bracket.
If you could find me the name of a council that treats the UC differently from the ESA with regards to council tax reduction, I'm willing to call them tomorrow to find out about this and then feed back to you on what they say.
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I doubt very much contacting them will change anything they clearly count UC as income or at least treat it differently to legacy benefits here's a screenshot of the email we received, I've crossed out personal info.
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Try Cheshire east then because they do this is a screenshot from there own website were they state when you migrate to UC it will be reduced.
My mum has no savings no pensions. All she gets now is UC and she still hasn't got the right awarded yet she should get standard,housing and LCWRA but that's not been added yet.
She was only receiving income based ESA and was in the support group before she migrated.
She only gets UC and yet our CT support has been reduced.
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The number for its Council Tax Customer Service Team is: 0300 123 5013
I'll call them tomorrow and will let you know what they say.
If it's ever true that they treat UC differently from the ESA in terms of council tax support, then, it's alarming.
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Council Tax Discounts are a national scheme.
Council Tax Reduction is decided on at a local level and each local authority has different rules for eligibility.
They are free each financial year to change that eligibility - I know through here and another forum of three local authorities who for the first time this year, stopped excluding PIP and started including it in it's financial calculations as to how much CTR a person was eligible for.
Local authorities do treat UC differently to legacy benefits. Legacy benefits automatically entitled a person to the maximum available CTR (whether that was 100% or not). UC doesn't give the same entitlement.
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I've just called them, but unfortunately couldn't get through to speak to a staff member, as I was told: "You're number 30 in the queue"! It's strange that their phone lines only operate till 1pm.
The difference is that when someone is on ESA, they're automatically granted 100%. But when they've moved onto the UC, they're also eligible for a 100% CTR, but this time they calculate the reduction/relief/support based on the income of the applicant. The rules of eligibility for council tax reduction do change between councils, as these are set in law, which applies nationally. Councils have a flexibility in terms of determining the amount they charge, but when it comes to eligibility, they're all the same and apply one national rule, which is set in law.
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I have been migrated from ESA Support to UC and got my first payment today - which has been all wrong and such a stress.
I am dreading council tax. My council never gave 100% reduction for ESA. I still had to pay £42 a month - even though on benefits and a single person. So, knowing this will go up is making me quite scared.
Do they count the LCWRA element and the transitional protection as income?
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