Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2024-2025

Central Government abolished Council Tax Benefit in 2013; every Council was tasked with designing its own local scheme to provide financial support to working-age residents.

Pension-age residents remain unaffected by the changes and will continue to do so.

Between April 2013 and March 2020, Redbridge Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) was based on former Council Tax Benefit rules with an upper limit on the amount of support a household could receive.

In April 2020, it was replaced by the current banded scheme which can be found here.

The council recognises that many of our residents are feeling the squeeze of the increased cost of energy, petrol, and food prices. We continue to provide discretionary payments to Council Taxpayers who are vulnerable and experiencing financial hardship. Increased engagement with our partners across the public and voluntary sectors ensures that we continue to support our residents and particularly those who are vulnerable and hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis. For more information about the support available to residents please visit our dedicated websites Cost of Living or Benefits.

The council, like all other authorities, continues to face additional budgetary pressures including the rising costs in energy and fuel charges, inflation, and a reduction in funding. Despite this, and although our Council Tax Reduction scheme is not fully funded by Central Government, the council knows that this support is vital to many residents and wants to support those most in need. Currently, the council’s scheme supports over 17,000 households with their Council Tax liability at a cost of 19.76M for the year 2023/2024.

To find out more about Council Tax click here.

Our Proposal

The opinion of our residents is important to us so we would like you to have your say on the council’s proposals for the Council Tax Reduction scheme for financial year 24/25. In proposing these options, full consideration has been given to

• The simplicity and stability of the current scheme for working age residents.
• Ongoing support for residents through the cost-of-living/ financial crisis.
• Ongoing support for residents to become financially resilient.
• Striking a balance between the need to provide financial stability to residents while also maintaining a scheme that is economically sustainable for the Council’s wider budget.

This survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and your responses are completely anonymous.

Please consider the four proposed options for the Council Tax Reduction scheme for the financial year 24/25