People in Romsey and the Test Valley are being asked for their views on a proposed scheme to support working-age households with council tax bills.

Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) has utilised a cross-party group of councillors to aid in its design and has been approved by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet.

The scheme proposes using income bands to ensure residents can easily see the support that they are eligible for, this is decided by their weekly net income and their household make-up.

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The proposal offers retention of the current protection of 100% council tax support for households who receive certain disability benefits and no income. Other households might receive up to 90% of their council tax support.

The TVBC predicts that the majority of households would receive the same, or more support than they have been, however the scheme may mean that a small number of households will receive less support.

Due to this possibility, the proposed scheme has included a discretionary hardship fund to alleviate this.

The scheme aims to, where possible, mirror the guidelines used by Universal Credit.

New proposals anticipate that the scheme will become more straightforward for residents to comprehend it in conjunction with Universal Credit.

Councillor Maureen Flood, stated: “It’s so important that people in Test Valley are having their say on these proposed changes, as we need to make sure that all our decisions have our residents at the forefront.

"The proposed new scheme is much clearer for our residents. Please take a few minutes to answer the questions in the consultation as your voice is needed.”

To access the survey and have your say, please visit www.testvalley.gov.uk/ctsconsulation. Do so before 27 October 2024 as this is when it closes.