Option 3
Introduce an income banded scheme
This scheme looks purely at whether you are working and if so, what your weekly earnings are.
Your entitlement to Council Tax Support is based on which band your earned income falls within. (Subject to non-dependant deductions where applicable). A banded scheme means that small changes in your earned income will not necessarily change your entitlement to Council Tax Support.
If you and your partner (if you have one), are not working, you will fall into the first band.
Around 30% of Council Tax Support schemes in England are now income banded. We are looking at something similar.
This means that the amount of Council Tax Support you receive will depend on which “income band” your household’s income falls into. The income banded scheme proposed for Runnymede, would award Council Tax Support based upon the income and any earnings used in the assessment of Universal Credit or evidenced from payslips or via Department for Work and Pensions data share.
An income-banded CTS scheme allows household income to fluctuate within the range of that income band, without entitlement to CTS being increased or reduced. This could reduce the number of council tax bills a household receives in a year and therefore is likely to enable households to manage their budgets accordingly.
Modern work patterns such as zero-hour contracts and fixed-term contracts mean Council Tax Support awards are being re-calculated more frequently than before for people who work. By making changes to look only at earnings and within bands, the number of re-calculations of entitlement are likely to be reduced.
(a) to introduce a banded income scheme for those claiming Universal Credit.
| Council Tax Banded incomes for those claiming Universal Credit | |
|---|---|
| Earnings | The amount you will contribute towards weekly Council Tax weekly |
| Income £0 - £70.99 per week | £0.00 |
| Income £71.00 - £146.99 per week | £7.50 |
| Income £147.00 - £249.99 per week | £15.00 |
| Income £250.00 - £399.09 per week | £23.00 |
| Income £400.00 - £599.99 per week | £30.00 |
| Income £600.00 - £699.99 per week | £38.00 |
| Income above £700.00 per week |
No Council Tax Support |
| 90% for Universal Credit customers only | ||
|---|---|---|
| Proposed change 90% Universal Credit only | Number of households affected | Change in the annual amount of Council Tax Support |
| Introduce a Banded scheme with no £5 minimum entitlement. Increase the maximum to 90% of Band D with no Vulnerable category |
1,065 customers would see no change 622 customers would see an increase in their entitlement 19 customers would see a fall in their entitlement 12 customers would lose their entitlement |
£218,516 increase in annual Council Tax Support |
| 100% for Universal Credit customers only | ||
|---|---|---|
| Proposed change 100% Universal Credit only | Number of households affected | Change in the annual amount of Council Tax Support |
| Introduce a Banded scheme with no £5 minimum entitlement. Increase the maximum to 100% of Band D with no Vulnerable category |
0 customers would see no change 1,697 customers would see an increase in their entitlement 10 customers would see a fall in their entitlement 2 customers would lose their entitlement |
£510,347 increase in annual Council Tax Support |
| 90% for Universal Credit customers only - with restrictions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Proposed change 90% Universal Credit only | Number of households affected | Change in the annual amount of Council Tax Support |
Introduce a Banded scheme with no £5 minimum entitlement. Increase the maximum to 90% of Band D with no Vulnerable category and other changes listed above:
|
998 customers would see no change 486 customers would see an increase in their entitlement 156 customers would see a fall in their entitlement 68 customers would lose their entitlement |
£24,035 increase in annual Council Tax Support |
| 100% for Universal Credit customers only - with restrictions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Proposed change 100% Universal Credit only | Number of households affected | Change in the annual amount of Council Tax Support |
Introduce a Banded scheme with no £5 minimum entitlement. Increase the maximum to 100% of Band D with no Vulnerable category and other changes listed above:
|
9 customers would see no change 1,450 customers would see an increase in their entitlement 113 customers would see a fall in their entitlement 136 customers would lose their entitlement |
£178,871 increase in annual Council Tax Support |
(b) removing the £5.00 minimum entitlement
Currently, we will not award any entitlement below £5.00 per week. We could remove this lower limit as part of a Banded Council Tax Support scheme so anyone who qualifies for more than 1pence per week would see that reduction on their council tax bill.
| Household Group | Number of households affected | Change in the annual amount of Council Tax Support +£454 |
|---|---|---|
| Universal Credit claim | 20 | £206 |
| Other income claim | 2 | £248 |
Examples of effects of proposed changes
The case examples in this document are for illustration purposes only. They show the potential impact of the proposed scheme, in comparison to if the current scheme continues.
Option 3 case example 4
| David receives Universal Credit and is in working group. Living in Band A property. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| David’s weekly Council Tax Support is currently | With a band scheme for those in receipt on Universal Credit, David's weekly Council Tax Support would change to | ||
| £17.43 weekly |
£19.61 - weekly 90% scheme |
||
| David's annual Council Tax Support is £908.85 | Annual Council Tax Support would be £1022.52 | ||
A single disabled person is living in a Band A property. They have a weekly council tax liability of £21.79 in 2024/25, after the 25% single person discount is applied. Their current Council Tax Support entitlement is £17.43 per week.
If we adopted a banded income scheme at 90% maximum of Band D, his weekly Council Tax Support would increase to £19.61.
| Karen receives Universal Credit and is living in Band C property | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Karen’s weekly Council Tax Support is currently | With a band scheme for those in receipt on Universal Credit, Karen’s earning means she pay £7.50. Her weekly Council Tax Support would change to | ||
| £9.97 weekly |
£21.56 - weekly 100% scheme |
||
| Karen’s annual Council Tax Support is £519.86 | Annual Council Tax Support would be £1124.20 | ||
A single disabled person is living in a Band C property. They have a weekly council tax liability of £29.06 in 2024/25, after the 25% single person discount is applied. Their current Council Tax Support entitlement is £9.79 per week.
If we adopted a banded income scheme at 100% maximum of Band D, their weekly Council Tax Support would increase to £21.56.
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