Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the equity of the current single person council tax discount given the relative burden on single-occupancy households.

A full council tax bill assumes that there are at least two adults living in a dwelling. Where there is only one liable adult resident in a property, the bill is reduced by 25%. This is effectively a 50% reduction in the personal element of the bill. The Government has no plans to change the single person discount.