Croydon Council's consultation on cuts to council tax support scheme

Croydon Council are consulting on changing the council tax support scheme, which could potentially throw many families and individuals in further into debt and poverty.

Difficulties paying for council tax and subsequent court orders and enforcement action is already one of the more common reasons local people seek out support from us. Further cuts to the council tax support scheme will push even more people into crisis, in a borough that has seen an increase of 35% council tax over the last 5 years.

The council have released an online consultation in advance of any potential changes, which gives us an opportunity to have our say and make it clear that pushing people further into poverty who are already only just making ends meet is not an option.

We found the wording of the consultation a little confusing, but one of our super smart volunteers has put together some guidance for completing it which you are welcome to use when completing the consultation yourself. The consultation is open until 10th November and you can fill it in here: https://cts.commonplace.is/

If you need any help filling it in we are holding two drop-in surgeries on Thursday 8th October and Tuesday 13th October from 11am-2pm at our community caff which you can find at 44b Portland Rd, SE25 4PQ (part of the Socco Cheta Community Hub building).

Suggested responses to councils, council tax support reform 

How strongly do you agree or disagree that disabled households should be given more support than non-protected groups within the Council Tax Support Scheme?      = Strongly agree

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to reduce the maximum award from 100% for households who are in receipt of a disabled benefit and currently not working?   = Strongly disagree 

Please rank the following options in order of preference, with your preferred option at the top:   = Start with 100% and decrease

Please explain your answer and the impact it will have on you?

You may wish to speak about the financial impact it would have on yourself or those around you, how it could affect mental well being. The health impacts of having less income, worse/less food, not being able to afford utilities, the affect it will have on paying current bills

How strongly do you agree or disagree that lone parent households with a child under 5-years-old should be given more support than non-protected groups within the Council Tax Support Scheme? = Strongly agree

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to reduce the award provided to households of lone parents with a child under 5-years-old?     = Strongly disagree

Please rank the following options in order of preference, with your preferred option at the top:   =Start with 80% and work down

Please explain your answer and the impact it will have on you?

As above, you may wish to speak about the financial impact it would have on yourself or those around you. How it could affect mental well being. The health impacts of having less income, worse/less food, not being able to afford utilities, the affect it will have on paying current bills

You could also speak about how it would decrease Croydon's children's quality of life, parents would have less money to support their children. No extra after school clubs, less money for clothing, books, toys etc. Parents may struggle to feed their children

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to reduce the maximum award for all those residents who are not in a protected group? = Strongly disagree

Please rank the following options in order of preference, with your preferred option at the top:   = Start with maintain current 75% and work down

Please explain your answer and the impact it will have on you?

As above, speak about it affecting your quality of life, affect on money and current bills, affect on mental health.

Croydon has one of the highest rates of council tax in london with the least amount of services, Speak about already struggling to pay bills and expenses. 

Losing this support would turn into debt and potential homelessness for many people

How strongly do you agree or disagree that disabled households where someone is working should have some of their income ignored when calculating their Council Tax Support?  = Strongly agree

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to reduce the income disregard from £50 per week for disabled households where someone is working? = Strongly disagree

Please rank the following options in order of preference, with your preferred option at the top: = Start with £50 option and decrease

Please explain your answer and the impact it will have on you?

Talk about having a tight budget, people are already struggling, any loss of support and income will result in negative results in quality of life.

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to reduce the level of savings a claimant can have before being unable to claim Council Tax Support?  = Neither agree nor disagree

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to increase the level of savings a claimant can have before being unable to claim Council Tax Support?  = Strongly agree

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to tighten the definition of the disabled category for the Council Tax Support scheme?  = Strongly disagree 

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to reduce the band cap from a Band D to a Band C for all claimants except those in the disabled not working group? =Strongly disagree

How strongly do you agree or disagree with the option to introduce a band cap for disabled not working residents? =Strongly disagree

How strongly do you agree or disagree that income received from war pensions or compensations schemes should be disregarded when calculating income? =Strongly agree

How strongly do you agree or disagree that Croydon’s Council Tax Support scheme should be aligned with other benefits in terms of the time limit for backdating changes in circumstances? =Neither agree nor disagree

How strongly do you agree or disagree that there should be a minimum number of hours someone should be working before child care costs are disregarded? =Strongly disagree

How strongly do you agree or disagree that Croydon should introduce a hardship fund to support those residents most affected by any changes to the Council Tax Support scheme? =Strongly agree

How strongly do you agree or disagree that those who see their level of support reduce the most should get the most support from a hardship fund? =Somewhat disagree

How strongly do you agree or disagree that there should be a transitional period over which any changes are implemented? = Strongly agree 

If there are any other ways these proposed changes to Council Tax Support might affect you or your household, please tell us below:   

Be as personal as possible this is your chance to explain the negative affects the changes would have on you and your community

If you have any ideas for how the Council could reduce the cost of Council Tax Support, please tell us below:

Reduce the council tax you charge residents and make savings other ways that do no affect local residents. 

Croydon charges incredibly high council tax it wouldn’t have to give so much support if it didn't charge so much

Don't forget to confirm your email address after you have completed the survey. It wont be counted if you dont !!!