Council Tax bills waived until flood victims return home
11 Apr 2014 03:25 PM
Government extends Council Tax discount to help
those hardest hit by the UK floods.
Today (11 April 2014) Local Government Minister Brandon
Lewis announced that the government will extend the Council Tax discount to all
flood victims for as long as they are unable to return to their
homes.
The
recent winter was the wettest on record and although flood defences
successfully helped protect over 1.3 million properties 7,700 homes were
flooded.
Most families are now back in their homes, as ground
water continues to recede slowly, but the clean up can be slow going and a
little over 1,000 households are still hoping to move back in.
In
February the government said it would fund a 3-month Council Tax discount for every affected
household. Today’s announcement extends that - meaning government will
now waive the tax for as long as people are unable to return to their homes.
This is expected to amount to £6 million of support, or £2 million
more than was originally set aside.
Brandon Lewis said:
Thankfully many people have been able to return to their
homes, but for some the process of homes drying out is going to take a little
longer still. I don’t want to see any of those families having to worry
about paying their Council Tax while they focus on getting their lives back in
order.
So
from today the government will extend its discount and no family will pay a
single penny in Council Tax until they are safely back in the comfort of their
own home.
Statistics from the Pitt Review of the 2007 floods show
that 50% of households returned to their properties within 3 months and 82%
within 6 months.
Already nearly 1,400 flood affected households have been
offered Council Tax discounts. To date 48 local authorities have reported that
they have already offered affected residents the discounts with a further 63
actively planning to do so.