More than two dozen local authorities across England and Wales have made changes after an investigation discovered 69 had incorrect eligibility details on their websites
Millions of people are being urged to “check now” after councils admitted making a mistake on their websites. MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis previously warned that one in five councils had inaccurate information over the eligibility of a key benefit.
Now the financial expert is advising people to check again after more than two dozen local authorities in England and Wales updated their websites to give accurate details. Posting on X, formally Twitter, MoneySavingExpert said: “Since revealing our findings on Monday 12 January, over two-dozen councils in England and Wales have updated their websites to list the correct qualifying benefits in full.”
The MoneySavingExpert investigation, published earlier this month, found at least 69 local authorities across England and Wales had incorrect details about the live-in Carer Council Tax discount on their websites. This indicated far fewer people are eligible for the discount than really are.
It warned: “This is likely to be putting off some of the millions of unpaid Carers from claiming what they’re legally entitled to.” Its investigation checked the online information available from more than 200 of the 318 authorities responsible for Council Tax billing in England and Wales.
It found 69 councils, including seven London boroughs, had incomplete, and therefore incorrect – criteria. It added: “This means a minimum of one in five councils are displaying incorrect info. This discount can knock 25% or 50% off a Council Tax bill – with a 25% discount typically worth £500 a year.”
An additional 80 councils had no easily available information online about the qualifying benefits needed to get the discount. The website warned: “This is very likely to deter a decent chunk of the up to five million unpaid carers from claiming.”
It advised those eligible for the discount must be caring for someone in receipt of one of several disability benefits, However it said the authorities were missing out some of the most common disability benefits.
It added: “This affects a wide range of people, including those where a parent is looking after an adult child, an adult child looking after a parent, and adult siblings looking after an adult brother or sister.” It said this was likely as a result of councils failing to update websites since Carer rules changes more than a decade ago, in 2013.
Under the live-in Carer Council Tax rules for England and Wales if someone living in the house of the person they are caring for is the only other resident apart from the person they are looking after, they will be disregarded for Council Tax purposes. This means the household will be entitled to a 25% single person discount.
This could even be higher if the person being cared for also qualifies for the Severe Mental Impairment’ disregard. Before 2013 the rules were that the carer needed to provide at least 35 hours of free care a week to somebody in their household who isn’t a spouse, partner or child under 18. The person being cared for needed to be receiving one of:
- Disablement Pension – increased rate
- Constant Attendance Allowance – increased amount
- Disability Living Allowance – care component, higher rate
- Attendance Allowance – higher rate
However in 2013 other benefits were added. These are:
- Armed Forces Independence Payment – any amount
- Attendance Allowance – lower rate
- Disability Living Allowance – care component, middle rate
- Personal Independence Payment – daily living component, enhanced rate
- Personal Independence Payment – daily living component, standard rate
The rules differ in Scotland and did not form part of the MSE invesitgation.
Speaking at the publication of the findings Martin Lewis said: “Unpaid carers can’t trust councils’ information about Carers’ Council Tax discounts. All Carers who thought they weren’t eligible after checking councils’ websites should check again (use Carers UK’s help pages). If you did miss out due to councils’ poor info, ask for a backdated discount to the point of first eligibility, though different councils have different rules.
“Thirty-five hours a week of unpaid caring is no small feat. This army of up to five million carers provides a silent and often un-thanked backbone that takes a burden off the NHS and care system – reducing the cost to the state.”
He added: “This is made worse by the fact the main Gov.uk pages about Council Tax don’t list the qualifying benefits for the discount – making it harder for taxpayers in England to work out whether they might be eligible. We are writing to all the councils involved to ask them to urgently update their websites and to ensure their internal policies are compliant.
“I will also be reporting this information lapse to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. It should work with councils on a clear plan to guarantee that Council Tax information is clear, accurate and accessible.”
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