News MBC public consultation on Council Tax Reduction Scheme

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) has opened a public consultation on the future of its Council Tax Reduction Scheme for low income residents in the community.

Throughout the consultation period MBC is asking for the views of residents and other stakeholders about proposals to change the scheme. Options to be included in the consultation were approved by the Council’s Policy and Resources Committee and will run until 27 September 2020.

The purpose of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme is to provide financial help with the payment of council tax for low income households. The recommendations outlined in the paper presented to the P&R Committee were aimed at enabling the Council to simplify the system, to make it easier for residents and reduce administrative processes.

MBC Leader and Chair of the P&R Committee, Cllr Martin Cox said:

“It is important that we review the Council Tax Reduction Scheme as it helps protect low income residents in our community.  We know that some schemes can be complicated and therefore, not straightforward for customers to understand.

“The recommendations we set out will make the scheme easier to manage and administer, simplify assessments and reassessments, reduce the use of paper, printing, and postage.”

Each year the Council is required to approve the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for the following 12 months. Where there are changes proposed, it is necessary for a public consultation to take place, requiring an early decision on any proposed changes.

The report was presented to update the Committee on the progress made on the review of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and options for public consultation in advance of taking a decision on the scheme to be implemented for 2021-22.

The public consultation survey is open until 27 September 2020 and takes 10 minutes to complete.  The survey can be found on the MBC website:

Council Tax Reduction Scheme Survey

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