The petition of residents of the United Kingdom,
Declares that there are over 600,000 people with dementia who receive care at home; further that people with dementia are only disregarded for council tax if they have a medical certificate and are in receipt of certain benefits; further that this means that many people with dementia have to wait months or years to qualify for council tax discounts after they have been diagnosed; and further that, if council tax disregards were backdated to the date a person was certified as being severely mentally impaired, people with dementia could receive additional council tax discounts for longer periods and potentially save thousands of pounds.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to require that council tax disregards are backdated to the date a person was certified as being severely mentally impaired, where they then go on to qualify for a relevant benefit.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Official Report, 15 June 2022; Vol. 716, c. P5.]
[P002739]
Observations from the Minister of State, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Paul Scully):
Council tax is an important source of funding that helps councils to deliver crucial services to the local community. The council tax system incorporates a wide range of discounts and exemptions to recognise particular circumstances where it might be considered that a full council tax bill might not be appropriate. In considering whether a council tax discount or exemption might apply, billing authorities are required to satisfy themselves that any relevant criteria for a reduction are met. This is to ensure that, in providing support through the council tax system via discounts and exemptions, that support is targeted at those who most need it.
The Government are committed to providing assistance to those with a severe mental impairment. The council tax system ensures that eligible people with a severe mental impairment are “disregarded” for the purposes of calculating their council tax bill. This means that, where they live on their own, they will not have to pay any council tax at all and, where they live with someone else, the other person will be entitled to a single person discount.
For a person to be eligible for the SMI discount, they must meet two criteria, set out in legislation. First, a medical practitioner must confirm that the individual has a severe mental impairment. Secondly, the person must also be entitled to receive one of a number of qualifying benefits specified in regulations. Entitlement to benefit is determined if and when a valid claim for that benefit has been made and agreed.
The council tax exemption is not an automatic entitlement for those with a severe mental impairment. It reflects also their particular circumstances and recognises that, where they are entitled to one of a range of defined benefits, they should benefit from a reduction in their council tax bill. Legislation requires that entitlement to the exemption is dependent on meeting both tests concurrently. This helps to ensure that support goes to where it is most needed.
The petition seeks to backdate eligibility for the council tax exemption to the date a medical practitioner makes a diagnosis of a severe mental impairment, once entitlement to relevant benefits is provided. This backdating would be irrespective of the date that entitlement to the benefit begins. The council tax system, and the provision of discounts and exemptions, is designed to ensure that support is made available to those most in need. The effect of the proposal contained in the petition would be that, where someone is assessed to be eligible for a relevant benefit on a particular date, and a medical practitioner had confirmed that they had a severe mental impairment from an earlier date, the entitlement to the council tax exemption would be backdated to the date of the medical assessment. The Government do not consider that it is appropriate for such exemptions to be provided where there is no confirmation that the person is also entitled to a relevant benefit at the same time. The rationale for the exemption is that a person is entitled to the exemption where they are both in receipt of a specified benefit and they have been diagnosed with a severe mental impairment. The proposal set out in the petition would break that principle.
However, councils have considerable flexibility, under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, to provide discretionary council tax discounts or exemptions to anyone in their area where they consider that appropriate. This could include offering support to those individuals with a severe mental impairment, including where they may not have demonstrated entitlement to a qualifying benefit.