A public consultation on a council tax reduction scheme has been opened by the city council for working age people.

Oxford City Council is considering potential changes to its council tax reduction scheme in 2024 and 2025.

Since the abolition of national council tax benefit in April 2013, councils have been responsible for drawing up their own tax reduction schemes.

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Cabinet member for inclusive communities Ajaz Rehman said: “There are very few councils still offering 100 per cent support for working age council taxpayers, and Oxford is one of them.

“We know that people are struggling because of the cost of living, and we want to know how far our income band scheme should reflect rising prices.

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“We also want people to tell us about how they’d prefer us to communicate with them about their council tax reduction and other benefits that we pay.”

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All claims for council tax reduction are assessed using an income band system which provides discounts of up to 100 per cent on claimants’ council tax bills.

The council is asking people whether the income bands should be uprated in line with inflation, which stood at 10.1 per cent at the end of 2022.

This increase to income bands would mean that households with an income less than £26,728 would qualify for some support.

The consultation is open on the council’s consultation portal until 11.59pm on Monday, September 4.

Paper versions of the consultation questionnaire are also available from Oxfordshire County Library and in community centres.

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Ed specialises in writing political stories for the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times. 

He joined in the team in February 2023, after completing a History undergraduate degree at the University of York and studying for his NCTJ diploma in London.

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