Wiltshire Council is considering making changes to its local council tax reduction scheme for working-aged people for the first time in four years.

And the changes should result in the scheme being “more generous to people in hardship who are eligible to receive support.”

The council is seeking feedback on the proposal during a consultation period that will run until Friday, November 27.

The original council tax reduction (CTR) scheme was launched in April 2013 and is designed to help people on a low income to pay their council tax.

Wiltshire Council is proposing the following changes to the CTR Scheme from Monday, April 1, 2024:

  • Raising the maximum amount of CTR from 80 per cent up to 90 per cent.
  • disregarding universal credit income in the calculation of CTR.
  • calculating CTR for those in receipt of universal credit in the same way as all other working-age customers.
  • restricting council tax reduction to the maximum liability of a band D property.
  • only accepting new applications for council tax reduction directly from the customer (or their representative) via a completed online or paper application form.

According to the council, these changes should “help to reduce the overall council tax debt written off each year due to those who are unable to pay.”

It also says they should improve the customer experience during the claiming process and make it fairer for Universal Credit recipients.

Councillor Nick Botterill, cabinet member for finance, said: “The introduction of the universal credit scheme has brought with it some complicated processes that have had an impact on those who claim council tax reduction and how we administrate the benefit.

“Therefore, we think now is a good time to look at making some changes that will not only likely make it a more generous scheme for those who need it, but also give them more control and make it less complicated for all involved. The scheme is in place to provide vital support and we don’t want any barriers to prevent that from happening.

“We ask that all those affected provide us with their feedback on our proposals so we can take that into consideration before making any final decisions.”

Households of state pension age have their scheme set by central government so are not concerned by these proposals.

Further details of the suggested changes can be found on the council website.