Council Tax Hardship Scheme will provide £275 discount to 61,000 households across Birmingham

Wednesday, 24 February 2021 11:42

Birmingham residents in receipt of Council Tax Support will receive a £275 discount on their 2021/ 2022 council tax bill.

The announcement follows a decision by Birmingham City Council to provide increased aid to 61,000 of the city’s most struggling households.

This means that all Council Tax Support recipients will be protected from this year’s Council Tax rise, with around 31,000 of these households now not needing to pay any council tax for the 2021/22 financial year.

During the first lockdown, more than 61,000 households across Birmingham received a £150 discount on their council tax bill through the first Council Tax Hardship Fund. In recognition of the ongoing hardships caused by Covid, this is being extended using one-off Government funding of £14.5m.

The Council Tax Hardship Fund was first launched by the Government in April last year to provide councils across the UK with funding to offer financial support to households in severe financial difficulty. How it is allocated is down to local councils to determine.

Cllr Brigid Jones, Deputy Leader for Birmingham City Council, said: “Although we’re almost a year on from when the country first went into lockdown, the repercussions of Covid-19 are still very much being felt across the community. Job losses, furlough and restrictions on business operations means people are continuing to struggle financially.

“The Council Tax Hardship Fund is intended to assist those people who are struggling the most by providing a discount of £275 on their 2021/ 2022 council tax bill. This will be automatically applied to households which are in receipt of Council Tax Support, with the 2021/ 2022 bills reflecting the discount and revised payment plan. We hope that this will be a help to families and households who are struggling the most.”

New bills will be sent to all people currently in receipt of Council Tax Support advising them of their discount next month (March).

As well as those currently in receipt of Council Tax Support, future claims will also have the discount applied in the 2021/22 financial year.

For more information on Council Tax Support or the Council Tax Hardship scheme visit the Birmingham City Council website and search for the applicable support.

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