Purpose

To consider the options for Council Tax Support for 2025/26 and a new class of reduction under the Section 13a Council Tax discretionary scheme to support terminally ill residents in financial difficulty.

Decision

RESOLVED –

(i)                 THAT Council be recommended to agree that, from 1 April 2026, the current Council Tax Reduction Scheme is updated to reflect the new London Living Wage amount in our income bands as set out in Appendix B of the report;

(ii) THAT Council be recommended to delegate authority to the Director of Finance to make changes to the approved scheme during 2026/27 to reflect any requirements set by Government to either the prescribed regulations for pensioners or the local working age scheme to ensure the scheme remains legally consistent and up to date as the legislation changes; and

(iii) THAT Council be recommended to agree the adoption of the revised Council Tax Discretionary Reductions policy as set out in appendix D with effect from 1 February 2026, which introduces a new discount class but also reconfirms Camden is happy to retain the existing discounts available under the policy too.