Report by Revenues and Benefits Manager (attached).

The Committee considered a report by the Revenues and Benefits Manager (circulated previously) regarding the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

The Head of Customer Focus highlighted the following:

·         The Council Tax Reduction Scheme was an income based scheme and the bandings for income levels could be seen in the table on page 16 of the report.

·         There were no proposed change to the scheme this year and we remained one of the few authorities who awarded 100% relief for those on low incomes.

Councillor Prowse gave thanks to the Team who had been dealing with large numbers of queries and applications.

The Head of Customer Focus gave the following responses to questions:

·         Assistance was already provided, face-to-face at community offices, to help with completing the application form.

·         The reduction for childcare costs for two children was set as part of the Devon wide scheme.

·         The proposal in front of Members today was to adopt the scheme unchanged.

RECOMMENDED that Council adopts and continues with the current Council Tax Reduction scheme for 2025/26 to include the uprating of applicable amounts, premiums and non-dependant deductions, as shown in the scheme.