Council Tax Support Scheme Consultation

Council Tax Support Scheme Consultation

We are asking for your views on proposed changes to Derby’s Council Tax Support Scheme (CTS). The consultation will enable residents, stakeholders and interested parties to give feedback before any final decisions are made.

What is the Council Tax Support Scheme

If you live in your own home, are a tenant on a low income or you claim benefits, you may get help to reduce your bill.

What you get depends on:

your circumstances for example, income, number of children, current benefits, residency status
your household income - this includes savings, pensions and your partner’s income
if other adults live with you (apart from your partner)
if your children live with you

You can read more about our existing scheme on this link or on the right hand side of this page.

What is happening?

The Council Tax Support Scheme has been in place since April 2013. Councils must provide support for working-age residents, while pension-age claimants remain protected under a national scheme.

We are reviewing the current scheme to make sure it continues to provide fair and effective support for those who need it most, within the resources available to the Council.

What are we proposing?

If you live in your own home or rent and are on a low income or claim benefits, you may be able to get help to reduce your Council Tax bill through the Council Tax Support (CTS) Scheme.

The scheme is funded through Derby’s overall Council Tax revenue budget. It is available for all properties from Band A to Band H.

We are proposing to make the scheme more generous by raising the cap from Band A to Band B, so support is based on the Council Tax charge for a Band B property.

People in Band A or B homes would have support based on their actual bill, while those in higher bands (C–H) would have it calculated as if their bill was Band B. The minimum payment would also reduce from 30% to 20%

Why are we making this change?

Extending eligibility to Band A and Band B properties, while reducing the contribution from 30% to 20%, strengthens the fairness and generosity of the scheme.
It ensures that more residents on low incomes receive the right level of help towards their council tax bill.

Next steps

The consultation runs until 7 December 2025 . Feedback will be carefully considered before final recommendations are presented to Council Cabinet, following the government’s provisional local government finance settlement.

For more information or to request this survey in an alternative format please contact Matthew Keeler on email: customerservices@derby.gov.uk or telephone: 01332 640000