No more cuts to Council Tax Reduction: Public meeting

This is a public meeting called by Brighton People’s Assembly against Austerity, Brighton & Hove Green Party, Brighton & Hove Left Unity, Brighton Benefits Campaign and CASE Central.

Before 2013, Council Tax Benefit covered the cost of council tax for people on some benefits. This was in recognition that, if you qualify for certain means tested benefits, you can’t afford to pay council tax.

Council Tax Benefit was abolished by the government in 2013, and replaced with a council run scheme called “Council Tax Reduction Scheme”.  Since then, the amount of help the poorest households in Brighton & Hove can get with their council tax bills has been cut from 100% to 85%.

The Labour-run Council are proposing another cut to this help – so that it will only cover 75% of the full council tax bill. Some people will therefore see their council tax bills go up by 67% from April 2016. This is despite the fact that, in real terms, benefits are worth less than they were in 2012, so people are actually less able to pay, not more.

Join us to hear first hand what this will mean for people in Brighton & Hove, and to share your story. Speakers (more details coming soon) and discussion.

Other actions you can take:

• complete the council’s consultation. Tell your friends – many people don’t know this is going on. Have a look at the People’s Assembly briefing notes for ideas about completing the consultation.
• sign the petition
• Spread the word through your networks