West Berkshire Council turns up in an investigation by MoneySavingExpert.
MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) has flagged West Berkshire Council in an investigation into councils giving wrong info about the live‑in Carer Council Tax discount.
A spot‑check found at least 69 councils in England and Wales – including seven London boroughs – publish incomplete and therefore incorrect eligibility criteria on their websites.
A further 80 councils didn’t include any easily available online information about the qualifying benefits needed to get the discount.
The discount can cut a council tax bill by 25% or 50% – with a 25% reduction typically worth about £500 a year, MSE says.
Those eligible must be caring for someone who receives one of several disability benefits. That covers cases such as a parent looking after an adult child, an adult child looking after a parent, or siblings caring for a brother or sister.
MSE says the likely cause is that many councils haven’t updated their websites since carer rules changed in 2013.
West Berkshire Council says: “We have been made aware that our website needs to be updated for a specific live in carer council tax discount.
“We are updating our website today to reflect the latest position.
“Any claims that have been made will have been processed in line with the correct legislation, but our website was not reflective of this.
“Along with a number of other councils we have been notified of this change that this is an entitlement specifically for live in carers of adults who are not the individual’s partner and are being cared for over 35 hours per week.
“We welcome anyone to come forward if they believe they have been eligible for this discount once our website has been updated later today/tomorrow showing the qualifying criteria.”
Martin Lewis warned: “Unpaid carers can’t trust councils’ information about Carers’ Council Tax discounts.”
He urged people to check again and to seek backdated discounts if they missed out because of poor council info, and said his organisation is writing to the councils involved and will report the lapse to government. “I will also be reporting this information lapse to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. West Berkshire Council has been approached for comment,” he added.
Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter
