Low income Crowborough residents living with a terminal illness will no longer have to pay council tax.
Wealden District Council is among the first in the country to adopt the policy and is one of only two district councils introducing the scheme this April.
The discount applies if someone with a terminal illness lives in a household and receives or becomes eligible for support under the Council Tax Reduction Scheme. To be eligible residents will have to provide an SR1 form to the council – a form completed by a qualified medical professional, such as a GP or consultant, on behalf of the patient.
A discount may be provided for a period of up to 12 months. In recognition of the impact on families and loved ones, the discount may also continue for a short amount of time after the death, helping to relieve immediate financial pressures at a sensitive time.
Cllr Daniel Manvell, lead councillor for Housing, Benefits and Revenues, said, “Research by Marie Curie suggests that hundreds of people living in Wealden are spending their final year of life in poverty. In my view, this is unacceptable. No family or individual should have to worry about council tax while dealing with the agony of a terminal illness diagnosis.
“We are introducing this compassionate scheme to do our bit in reducing the significant and unnecessary burden of financial difficulty for those living with a terminal illness. An average Band D household currently receiving a 40% reduction would save over £1600. This is a substantial amount for any family, and particularly important when families need every penny to spend on care, comfort, and spending time with their loved ones.
In addition to freezing our share of council tax and investing a further £250,000 into our direct cost-of-living support, this is one of the ways our cost-living-budget is supporting residents.”
Around 280 people die in poverty every day in the UK, according to Marie Curie’s ‘Dying in Poverty’ report. Through the ‘Cost of Dying’ campaign, Marie Curie is calling for more councils across England to review the financial support they offer people with a terminal illness and their loved ones.
Toby North, Head of Public Affairs at Marie Curie, said “We’re delighted that Wealden District Council is among some of the first in the country to provide specific support with council tax to people facing a terminal illness. We now urgently need more councils to adopt a similar approach, to help more people live out their last months, weeks, and days without needing to worry about their bills.
“We hope to expand our campaign further, with more councils across England following suit to ease the financial burden on people at the end of life.”