Local council tax support scheme for working age customers S13A and Schedule 1A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 2021/22 1 | P a g e Details of support to be given for working age customers during the financial year 2021/22 Section 1 (Council tax support scheme) 1. Introduction to the council tax support banded income scheme Sections 2-8 (Definitions and interpretation) 2. Interpretation – an explanation of the terms used within this scheme 3. Definition of non-dependant 4. Requirement to provide a National Insurance number 5. Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit or who are of working age and who have a partner who has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit 6. Remunerative work 7. Persons subject to immigration control – excluded from claiming under this scheme 8. Temporary absence (period of absence) Section 9-11 (The family for council tax support purposes) 9. Membership of a family 10. Circumstances in which a person is to be treated as responsible (or not responsible) for a child or young person 11. Circumstances in which a child or young person is to be treated as being or not being a member of the household Section 12-29 & Schedules 1 & 2 (Definition and treatment of income for council tax support) 12. Calculation of income and capital of members of applicant’s family and of a polygamous marriage 13. Circumstances in which the capital and income of a non-dependant is to be treated as applicant’s 14. Calculation of income on a weekly basis 15. Treatment of child care charges 16. Average weekly earnings of employed earners 17. Average weekly earnings of self-employed earners 18. Average weekly income other than earnings 19. Calculation of average weekly income from tax credits 20. Calculation of weekly income 2 | P a g e 21. Disregard of changes in tax, contributions, etc. 22. Earnings of employed earners 23. Calculation of net earnings of employed earners 24. Earnings of self-employed earners 25. Calculation of net profit of self-employed earners 26. Deduction of tax and contributions of self-employed earners 27. Calculation of income other than earnings 28. Capital treated as income 29. Notional income Sections 30-39 & Schedule 4 (Definition and the treatment of capital for council tax support) 30. Capital limit 31. Calculation of capital 32. Disregard of capital of child and young person 33. Income treated as capital 34. Calculation of capital in the United Kingdom 35. Calculation of capital outside the United Kingdom 36. Notional capital 37. Diminishing notional capital rule 38. Capital jointly held 39. Calculation of tariff income from capital Section 40-53 (Definition and the treatment of students for council tax support) 40. Student related definitions 41. Treatment of students 42. Students who are excluded from entitlement to council tax support 43. Calculation of grant income 44. Calculation of covenant income where a contribution is assessed 45. Covenant income where no grant income or no contribution is assessed 3 | P a g e 46. Student Covenant Income and Grant Income – non disregard 47. Other amounts to be disregarded 48. Treatment of student loans 49. Treatment of fee loans and treatment of payments from access funds 50. Disregard of contribution 51. Further disregard of student’s income 52. Income treated as capital 53. Disregard of changes occurring during summer vacation Sections 54-65 (The calculation and amount of council tax support) 54. Maximum council tax support 55. Non-dependant deductions 56. Extended support 57. Duration of extended support period 58. Amount of extended support 59. Extended support – movers 60. Relationship between extended support and entitlement to council tax support under the general conditions of entitlement 61. Extended support (qualifying contributory benefits) 62. Duration of extended support period (qualifying contributory benefits) 63. Amount of extended support (qualifying contributory benefits) 64. Extended support (qualifying contributory benefits) – movers 65. Relationship between extended support (qualifying contributory benefits) and entitlement to council tax support under the general conditions of entitlement Sections 66-67 (Dates on which entitlement and changes of circumstances are to take effect) 66. Date on which entitlement is to begin. 67. Date on which change of circumstances is to take effect. Sections 68-75 (Claiming and the treatment of claims for council tax support) 68. Making an application 4 | P a g e 69. Procedure by which a person may apply for a reduction under the authority’s scheme 70. Date on which an application is made 71. Submission of evidence electronically 72. Use of telephone provided evidence 73. Information and evidence 74. Amendment and withdrawal of application 75. Duty to notify changes of circumstances Sections 76-83 (Decisions, decision notices and awards of council tax support) 76. Decisions by the authority 77. Notification of decision 78. Time and manner of granting council tax support 79. Persons to whom support is to be paid 80. Shortfall in support 81. Payment on the death of the person entitled 82. Offsetting 83. Payment where there is joint and several liability Sections 84-87 (Collection, holding and forwarding of information for council tax support) 84. Use of information from and to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) 85. Collection of information 86. Recording and holding information 87. Forwarding of information Sections 88-91 (Revisions, written statements, termination of council tax support) 88. Persons affected by decisions 89. Revisions of decisions 90. Written statements 91. Terminations 5 | P a g e Section 92 (Appeals against the authority’s decisions) 92. Procedure by which a person may make an appeal against certain decisions of the authority Section 93 (Procedure for applying for a discretionary reduction) 93. Procedure for an application to the authority for a reduction under section 13A(1)(c) of the 1992 Act Section 94-100 (Electronic Communication) 94. Interpretation. 95. Conditions for the use of electronic communication 96. Use of intermediaries 97. Effect of delivering information by means of electronic communication 98. Proof of identity of sender or recipient of information 99. Proof of delivery of information 100. Proof of content of information Section 101 (Counter Fraud and Compliance) 101. Counter fraud and compliance Schedule 1 Sums to be disregarded in the calculation of earnings Schedule 2 Sums to be disregarded in the calculation of income other than earnings Schedule 3 Disabled child additional disregard Schedule 4 Capital to be disregarded 6 | P a g e Council tax support scheme Section 1 Details of support to be given to working age customers for the financial year 2021/2022 1.0 Introduction to the council tax support schemes 1.1 The following schemes have been adopted by the Council on 24th February 2021 in respect of the period 1st April 2021 – 31st March 2022 1.2 This document details how the schemes will operate for both working age customers and those working age customers who fall into the protected group and, in accordance with Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, specifies who will be entitled to a reduction under the scheme, Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 and the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) and is effective from 1 April 2019 for a period of one financial year. 1.3 The scheme in respect of pension age applicants is defined by Central Government within the Council Tax Reduction Schemes (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2012 and the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended). The Council has no discretion in relation to the calculation of council tax support in respect of the pension age scheme other than the full disregard of war pension and war disablement pension and it is designed to provide broadly the same level of support provided within the previous (Council Tax Benefit) scheme. 1.4 Full details of the working age schemes of the authority are contained within this document from section 2 onwards. The authority is required to specify a scheme for working age and therefore this non-protected scheme only applies to a person who; a. has not attained the qualifying age for state pension credit; or b. has attained the qualifying age for state pension credit and he/she or their partner, is a person on income support or on an income-based job seekers allowance. 1.5 The scheme shall not apply to any applicant who is subject to immigration control under Section 115 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and non-economically active EEA nationals. 1.6 To obtain support the individual (or partner) must: a. have not attained the qualifying age for state pension credit; b. be liable to pay council tax in respect of a dwelling in which he is solely or mainly resident; c. is not deemed to be absent from the dwelling; d. not fall within a class of person prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 2(9) of Schedule 1A to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and excluded from the authority’s scheme; e. be somebody in respect of whom a maximum council tax reduction amount can be calculated; f. not have capital savings above £10,000; g. be a person in respect of whom a day in which s/he is liable to pay council tax falls within a week in respect of which the person’s income falls into one of the income bands, and h. have made a valid application for support. 1.7 Applicants entitled to a maximum reduction under this scheme fall into the income band 1 percentage reduction. Applicants who fall into income band 1 are: 7 | P a g e applicants whose calculated weekly income, in accordance with this scheme, is within the income range for income band 1 or those in receipt of income support or income based jobseeker’s allowance.