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Cost of living support

Financial advice and emotional support on how you can ease the cost of living squeeze.

Council Tax Support Fund 2023-24

Additional financial help for households already receiving Local Council Tax Support and support for other vulnerable households in the Uttlesford district.

Recognising the impact of rising bills, the government is distributing £100 million of new grant funding in 2023-24 for local authorities to support 3.8 million economically vulnerable households already receiving Council Tax support in their area.

Uttlesford District Council has received £84,546 from this fund.
 

Who will get support

Local authorities are required to use most of their funding allocations to reduce Council Tax bills for current working age and pension age Local Council Tax Support (LCTS) claimants by up to £25, providing they were in receipt of LCTS with effect from 1 April 2023.

Councils can use their remaining allocation as they see fit to support vulnerable households with Council Tax bills. We have decided to provide all Local Council Tax Support claimants with an additional top-up payment of up to £25.00.

The remaining fund will then be used to further support vulnerable Uttlesford households with their Council Tax bills.
 

How to apply

LCTS claimants

If you are in receipt of LCTS there is no need for you to contact us as the reduction will be automatically applied to your Council Tax bill for 2023-24.

Other claimants

If you are not claiming LCTS you can apply for Council Tax support through our Exceptional Hardship Fund (EHF).
 

Qualifying criteria

We have summarised our policy on the qualifying criteria for the Council Tax Support Fund main scheme and our discretionary scheme.

Eligibility

For the 2023-2024 financial year only, this scheme will be in place to provide a Council Tax Support Fund Payment against the annual Council Tax bill in the following circumstances:

  1. Main scheme - Council Taxpayers in receipt of Local Council Tax Support and living in the Uttlesford area.
  2. Discretionary scheme - All LCTS claimants will receive an additional £25 top-up automatically.
  3. Discretionary scheme- Non-LCTS Council Taxpayers suffering financial hardship due to the cost-of-living crisis and living in the Uttlesford area.

Scheme

All LCTS claimants (main scheme) resident on or after 1 April 2023 with an ongoing liability will qualify automatically for an award of £25 or the total of their outstanding Council Tax whichever is lower.

All LCTS claimants (discretionary scheme) will receive an automatic additional £25 or the total of their outstanding Council Tax whichever is lower under the discretionary policy.

For non-LCTS customers, (discretionary scheme) will be assessed and awarded in accordance with those detailed in our Council Tax Support Exceptional Hardship Policy (PDF) [160KB] . Total award under this scheme will be £25.00 or the total of their outstanding liability whichever is lower.

There will be only one award per household in 2023/2024.

This award of Council Tax Support will not affect the eligibility of recipients for other benefits.

The billing authority will be reimbursed by a Section 31 grant and new burdens funding will be made available.
 

More information

Uttlesford Cost of Living Support Fund Policy 2023/24 (PDF) [86KB]

There is more information in the Council Tax Support Fund guidance on GOV.UK.