Residents asked to have their say in council tax support consultation

Central Bedfordshire Council has launched a consultation on its Local Council Tax Support Scheme (LCTS) for working-age claimants.  

The scheme helps working age residents on low incomes by reducing the amount of Council Tax they need to pay. Under the current scheme, 9,371 households receive support and 7,141 of these receive 100% support – meaning they pay no Council Tax at all. This has increased from 5,340 claimants in 2022/23. The cost of providing this support is £14million per year, and with demand increasing, the cost is rising.  

The Council is consulting on reducing the amount of support, which would mean working-age claimants would receive less support and would be required to pay more than they do now. Pensioners would be unaffected by the proposed changes.

The government is about to implement a major change to local authority funding known as the Fair Funding Review. In this, the Council has been told to expect a reduction in funding of £24million for the first year alone. This means the Council is forced to consider discretionary discounts hence the consultation on the council tax scheme. So, the Council is consulting on changes to the scheme which could reduce the overall cost of the scheme by £3.4million, with Central Bedfordshire Council’s share of this saving being £2.9m.
The consultation - which opens today, Wednesday 26 November – gives residents the opportunity to share their views on proposed changes to the scheme before a decision is made. 

Alongside the LCTS scheme, the Council provides a range of other financial support for residents in hardship, including discretionary housing payments, exceptional hardship payments, and various welfare support schemes. The Council also offers practical assistance to help people back into employment, working with local employers to create training and apprenticeship opportunities. There are no plans at present to reduce these schemes.

Cllr John Baker, Executive Member for Finance, said: “We fully understand that any proposal to reduce Council Tax discounts will cause concern to those in receipt of them, and we do not bring these options forward lightly. Almost two-thirds of our entire budget is spent on vital services such as adult social care and children’s services, where both costs and demand continue to rise sharply. That means the rest of our funding is hugely stretched.

“On top of that, the Government’s proposed Fair Funding arrangements represent a significant challenge for us – they leave us with no choice but to look very carefully at all areas of spending, including the Local Council Tax Support Scheme, so we can continue to fund the ever-increasing costs of providing essential statutory services to everyone.

“The £14m cost of this scheme is currently funded by those who pay Council Tax; it is not covered by a Government grant. The 100% Council Tax discount has already been abolished (aside from exceptional cases) in both Milton Keynes and Luton.

“We are asking residents to share their views so we can take informed decisions and strike the right balance between supporting lower households and safeguarding the critical services our communities rely on every day.”

The consultation will close on Wednesday 7 January 2026. To take part or find out more about the proposals, residents can visit: www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/consultations.