Rutland County Council have announced that they will adopt a new Council Tax Reduction Scheme from 1st April 2025. 

The goal of the new scheme is to give financial help towards paying council tax for those already claiming other benefits or on a low income. 

The decision was made by the council last week following a 10-week public consultation on the matter. 

The Council Tax Reduction Scheme will help those already claiming benefits, such as universal credit, or for those working but on a low income. There will be no changes made for pensioners within the support scheme and the council will continue to support care leavers up to their 25th birthday under the new scheme. Those of working age already claiming will be moved over automatically to the new banded scheme. 

One advantage of this new scheme is that it will be easier for families to access as they only have to fill out an online application form. 

It will also be simpler for households to work out the level of support they can access by looking at a simple banding rates table. This is significantly easier than the current scheme and will make payments more predictable month on month as there will be less changes throughout the year. 

The new scheme takes into consideration factors, such as the number of adults residing in a property (besides a partner), the amount of savings, self-employed income and the number of dependents. 

Councillor Andrew Johnson is Rutland County Council's Portfolio Holder for Governance and Resources (Photo: Rutland County Council)

Rutland County Councillor Andrew Johnson said: "We'd like to thank all of those that have taken part in the consultation process, which highlighted larger support for the changes from respondents. 

"The approved Council Tax Reduction Scheme will now provide households with stability in knowing that their council tax instalments are unlikely to change from month to month due to minor fluctuations in income, whilst also ensuring that those that need support are most benefitted by the scheme." 

Following approval of the new policy, further information will be available on Rutland County Council's website shortly, including details of the new policy, income bands and the reductions available. All information will be included on their Council Tax pages.