LCWRA and Council Tax Benefit / Support

PaleMr69

Hi. I was awarded LCWRA five months ago and have been receiving the payments since. I have just been sent an amended Council Tax Bill for 2020/21 showing that my Council Tax Support has been cut in half as a result of the extra income, leaving me with an outstanding balance of £255 rather that the £8 I was expecting.
Just wondering if others have experienced this or if it's just a Plymouth City Council policy? They will disregard other health-related income (PIP etc) but not the LCWRA element of UC.

calcotti

Every local authority can set it's own rules for working age claimants of CTR. If Plymouth operate a simple banding system based on weekly income then an increase in your UC could impact CTR entitlement.
However I note that
Council Tax Support 2021/2022 | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK says

When calculating household income we do not include:
Work Related Activity or Support component of Employment and Support Allowance

Logically therefore you would expect them to exclude the LCWRA element of UC but there is no reference to this. 
May be worth checking with the council.

PaleMr69

I did email a query to my Council and they highlighted the guide you've quoted from. I queried it with them as I expected that logically the LCWRA element would be excluded, but it's not explicitly mentioned in the guidance and so "... this Element is included as income when assessing Council Tax Support." 

calcotti

The policy is therefore inconsistent. Might want to raise it with your local councillor.

sarseg1

Hi,Did you manage to sort this out?As in the Same situation with South Glou Council....Regards 

poppy123456

sarseg1 said:

Hi,Did you manage to sort this out?As in the Same situation with South Glou Council....Regards 

This link says https://www.southglos.gov.uk/council-tax/counciltax-discounts/local-council-tax-reduction/ The tables for the bands can be seen in the link.

 "If the customer or any partner is in receipt of Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (income related), Job Seekers Allowance (income based) or maximum Universal Credit, they will automatically be placed in band 1."

sarseg1

Thanks Poppy,but does this cover Lcwra ?

sarseg1

and just wondering what they mean when they say Max UC only because i work we do not receive full amount due to working over allowance its my partner who has Lcwra.....Many thanks its so confusing 

calcotti

sarseg1 said:

Thanks Poppy,but does this cover Lcwra ?

No.

sarseg1 said:

and just wondering what they mean when they say Max UC only because i work we do not receive full amount due to working over allowance its my partner who has Lcwra.....Many thanks its so confusing 

In which case I would take that to mean you are not receiving maximum UC and are therefore not automatically in Band 1. Your band will depend on the amount of earnings.

sarseg1

so they will include the Lcwa as earnings? or just what i earn at work?so sorry about all the questions if they include the lcwra element feel thats unfair as its no fault of his own heart condition Regards again

sarseg1

currently get 30% off entitlement 

calcotti

sarseg1 said:

so they will include the Lcwa as earnings? 

No, of course not, it's part of the UC.

Your previous question was whether getting LCWRA meant you would automatically be placed in Band 1, it doesn't.

sarseg1

oh okay,so will probably remain the same as present i assume thanks for getting back to me so quickly.I have only been receiving benifits for a short while,never thought i would have to rely on them.My partner is extremely unwell and now awaiting bypass surgery.Regards

calcotti

sarseg1 said:

oh okay,so will probably remain the same as present 

As I understand the scheme, if the earnings are unchanged then the CTR % should be unchanged. If the earnings were below your UC Work Allowance so no earnings deduction is made you would, I think, get the maximum help available (80% of bill).

northeastlady

Hi. I'm in the same boat after receiving my bill today.

Last year to this year nothing has changed yet I'm now paying nearly £300 a year in stead of what was £70 last year.

Last year all my benefits were recorded exactly the same as this year, UC with LCWRA but for some reason this year I  have a higher bill. The bill itself never makes sense so I am going to have to query as to why....

sarseg1

Hi,yes let me know how you get on,?Regards 

Silvano

Im in the same position. I dont work and last year didnt have to pay any council tax as got the full council tax benefit but this year they're saying the rise in Universal credit (which incedenctly I haven't even received yet and is only an extra £10.07 a month) means I have to pay £10.98 for the year. This got me thinking (I didn't even know they call Universal credit income till this month when got the council tax bill!!) that if Im awarded lcwra backdated to December East Hants Petersfield Council tax department will immediately send me a massive bill I cant afford to pay. Really stressed and worried 😯 

northeastlady

I spoke with the council and they advised me that it was a system error and it had automatically added LCWRA income to calculations and that it was everyone who received it but that they were working on a fix and that it could take a few weeks to sort out. They advised that once they had fixed it new bills would be issued to reflect the correction. I am still waiting though.

poppy123456

Silvano said:

Im in the same position. I dont work and last year didnt have to pay any council tax as got the full council tax benefit but this year they're saying the rise in Universal credit (which incedenctly I haven't even received yet and is only an extra £10.07 a month) means I have to pay £10.98 for the year. This got me thinking (I didn't even know they call Universal credit income till this month when got the council tax bill!!) that if Im awarded lcwra backdated to December East Hants Petersfield Council tax department will immediately send me a massive bill I cant afford to pay. Really stressed and worried 😯 

During the first year of the pandemic local Authorities were given extra funding so they passed this onto those claiming CTR. This meant that many people didn't have to pay Counncil Tax. Some local Authorities extended this for tax years 2021/22 because mine was exactly the same but not everyone got this.

This year, the majority of people have to pay a small amount of CT because that extra finding has now gone. All local Authories have their own rule and how much percentage you have to pay varies between local Authories. For me, it's £6 per month.

PaleMr69

I have checked with Plymouth City Council several times, always the same answer. LCWRA is not disregarded as Income (as other sickness related benefit payments are), so my bill for this council tax year is approx. £600 as opposed to approx. £130 last year.

Silvano

Oh no, that's bad news when Im really struggling as it is with money.