BARNSLEY’S hardest-hit residents who receive help through the council tax support scheme are being encouraged to have their say on a new programme which will affect thousands of locals.
The current scheme has been in place since April 2022, providing valuable support for the town’s most vulnerable people.
The council say that the scheme will now need to reviewed as local circumstances have changed but they admit it is important that the scheme does not discourage people from seeking employment and instead staying on benefits.
Currently the council use income and savings to calculate whether or not a household will be eligible for support but they don’t include certain income types such as child benefit and disability allowance.
Coun Robert Frost, cabinet spokesperson for core services, said: “When the government passed responsibility to local authorities to develop their own CTS schemes, it was to make sure that the support schemes reflected the needs and circumstances of local areas.
“As our circumstances and needs change here in Barnsley, it is crucial that the scheme is reviewed to reflect this.
“The proposed changes will continue to provide the right level of support targeting the most vulnerable households who need it the most whilst also supporting our Pathways to Work Commission by encouraging people to gain employment.
“Your feedback and views are a critical part of this review, and I’d urge you to consider the proposals and share any comments with us.
“This will help shape our decisions and offer a fair, consistent and sustainable scheme, whilst protecting those that need it the most.”
The new scheme, which is currently in the consultation stage, will see a number of proposed changes.
This includes raising the current earning disregard form £25 to £30 per week.
Earning disregard is the amount of earned income the council deduct from your income before calculating the support you may receive.
This means you can earn and keep more of your earned income before the council calculate which income band you fall in and how much help you’ll get.
This proposal will support the Pathways to Work Commission and encourage people to start working.
This is because they’ll know they can earn more without it impacting the help they’ll get.
However, the discount locals receive of their council tax is set to drop.
For example, those currently in band 1B will see pay 15 per cent of their council tax instead of 7.2 per cent, and those in band four will pay 75 per cent rather than 62.75 per cent.
People who have savings less than £10,000 are currently eligible for the scheme but it’s proposed that this figure drop to £6,000.
The council say that this will create a fairer scheme for all households.
A spokesperson said: “We’d like to know your views and thoughts about the proposals we’ve made for council tax support for 2025/26.
“Your feedback is vital to us and it will help us shape the new scheme.
“The consultation period will run for four weeks. It will close at 12am on November 17.”
