CHANGES to the scheme that provides reductions in council tax to low-income workers people in Wirral are being proposed.

Wirral Council introduced the Council Tax reduction scheme in 2013 replacing the central Government-funded Council Tax benefits scheme.

Council Tax reduction provides residents on lower incomes with a discount on their Council Tax bill; the actual level of discount being based on the income of the household.

Wirral Council said that over time, often small changes to a claimant’s income were “triggering” a reassessment of the level of the council tax reduction and a recalculation of monthly instalments.

It added that this was causing “confusion amongst residents” and “delays and errors” in payments as residents' bills could change and need to be reissued “up to 12 times a year” if income was fluctuating slightly.

The council also stated that this was “a significant administrative burden” for the authority.

Public consultation is now underway on a number of proposed changes to the current scheme, including the introduction of wider income thresholds bands and changes to the minimum payment for some working age groups.

Changes are also proposed that seek to maximise the use of automated systems to make processing more reliable and reduce the risk of errors.

They would also make it more accessible and easier to understand for claimants.

The council added that the changes would also reduce the number of changes during the year and would remove some of the administrative burden and save the council money when compared to the existing scheme.

The scheme would then be more in line with other authorities in the Liverpool City Region ensuring all working-age claimants contribute.

The consultation is open to all residents and interested groups and is open until December 13, 2024. To take part, visit smartsurvey.co.uk/s/WIRRALCTRFINAL.