Somerset council tax changes could 'create more hardship'

Somerset Council is currently consulting on proposals to change its council tax reduction scheme, reducing a number of the discounts currently offered while providing protection for pensioners and those moving across from universal credit.

More than 450 people have already taken part in the consultation, which concludes on September 28 ahead of formal proposals being brought to the council's executive committee ahead of its annual budget meeting in February 2027.

But numerous councillors have warned that the proposals could leave low-income individuals and families in "a horrible place" and lead to an increase in council tax arrears (which would require additional resources for the council to chase up).

The proposals were discussed in detail by the council's corporate and strategic scrutiny committee when it met in Taunton on Wednesday morning (September 9).

A total of nine changes are proposed to the current system - namely:

1. Disregard an amount equivalent to the lower rate of limited capability for work-related activity (LCWRA - currently £217.26 a month) when working out a person’s income
2. Disregard the transitional protection element of universal credit as income when working out a person’s income
3. Remove the £25 a week earnings disregard when working out a
   person’s income (including those who are self-employed
4. Remove the £30 a week income disregard where the home of the
   claimant includes someone who is disabled
5. Increasing the standard non-dependant deduction from £10 to
   £15 a week and introducing exemptions to a non-dependant
   deduction for certain households
6. Reducing the level of support for all working age applicants to 60 per cent, 40 per cent and 20 per cent, with the 10 per cent discount band being
   removed
7. Restricting support to households in council tax Bands A and B
8. Introducing a minimum weekly award level of £5 a week
9. Introducing additional income bands for families with three or more
   children, following the government's abolition of the two-child benefit cap

Councillor Bob Filmer (Conservative, Brent) (Image: Somerset Council)

Proposal 1 is expected to cost the council £3.8m to implement, with the overall changes intended to be cost-neutral.

Councillor Bob Filmer (Conservative, Brent) said: "People have found themselves to be worse off by switching to universal credit.

"Proposal one lets us deal with that anomaly, and the rest of the recommendations are about working about how we can claw back money to get a balanced budget.

"Somebody is going to be made worse off by the decisions that we make - it's just a case of who gets made worse off in which case. It's either the people who are currently being hit, or we're going to get other people to cover that cost.

"Ultimately that's decision the executive is going to have to make. The judgement of Solomon is going to be needed."

Changes to Somerset council tax support could leave many worse off (Image: Stock)

Councillor Dave Mansell (Green, Upper Tone) took issue with the planned reduction in banded support, arguing it would result in residents getting into council tax arrears and running up greater debt to stay afloat.

He said: "People do get into arrears with their council tax, and this has close to doubled over the last year - in other words, people were getting into more difficulty.

"That's probably not a surprise - we know the cost of living pressures and the difficulties people are getting into.

"The people who are looking for council tax reductions are on low incomes, and reducing the amount of discount on council tax offered, for me, feels like going too far.

"It think it’s going to put more people into difficulty and create more hardship. I am very reluctant to go along with this."

Councillor Peter Seib (Liberal Democrat, Brympton) (Image: Somerset Council)

Councillor Peter Seib (Liberal Democrat, Brympton) said that the current council could learn from the previous local authorities (which were abolished in April 2023) to avoid spending large amount of money chasing relatively small amounts of council tax debt.

He explained: "One of the features in the original South Somerset scheme was the principle that everyone must pay a little something.

"This council did away with that in order to reduce the number of people who were effectively costing us a lot because we were chasing relatively small council tax arrears.

"We need to have the collection rate in mind, so we don't spend a disproportionate amount of money chasing very small debts.

"One of the worst outcomes we can impose on a citizen is the pile of unopened envelopes  of top of the fridge, which they know are just reminders.

Councillor Dawn Johnson (Liberal Democrat, Comeytrowe and Trull) (Image: Somerset Council)

"That's a horrible place to be. We need to make sure we’re not creating a perfect storm for anyone."

Councillor Dawn Johnson (Lib Dem, Comeytrowe and Trull) added: "People in some challenging situations are going to be losing £20 a month potentially.

"That can make a big difference when you are in difficult financial situations. I am concerned about the impact this will have on some vulnerable people."

To take part in the consultation, visit www.somersetcouncil.citizenspace.com/comms/council-tax-reduction-consultation-2026/ before September 28.

Once the consultation has concluded, the responses will be analysed by officers and brought forward the committee in a fresh report in November.

This report will most likely be agreed by the executive committee before Christmas, giving officers enough time to implement it shortly after the next budget is agreed in February 2027.

The council has not received any indication as to when the ongoing judicial review into universal credit would be concluded.