The national picture – Council Tax Support scheme consultation 2025
Consultation closes: Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Consultation opened: Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Many councils across England are making changes to their Council Tax Support schemes and making adjustments, often to manage costs or simplify how support is calculated.
A recent independent report looked at all the schemes being run by local authorities for 2025/26. It found that:
- around 1 in 5 councils (21%) made changes to how they calculate Council Tax Support this year – the most common change was to increase the minimum payment paid by the lowest-income households, which means households are being asked to pay more towards their Council Tax
- an extra 20 councils switched to an income-banded scheme, similar to the scheme used by Central Bedfordshire Council – now, just over 40% of councils use income bands to decide how much support someone gets
Visit entitledto, to read the full report.
| Details | Central Bedfordshire Council | Luton Borough Council | Bedford Borough Council | Milton Keynes Council |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Local Council Tax Support award | Up to 100% | Up to 80% | Up to 100% | Up to 100% |
| Scheme restrictions | None | Most working age claimants are restricted to 80% maximum award. | Claimants living in Band E to H properties are restricted to 82% maximum award. | Most working age claimants are restricted to 80% maximum award. |
| Working age claimants as of March 2025 | 9,994 | 6,476 | 7,526 | 10,438 |
| Working age claimants as a percentage of households | 7.2% of 133,987 households | 7.6% of 85,285 households | 9.3% of 80,510 households | 8.3% of 125,540 households |
Bedford Borough Council is currently consulting on its own Local Council Tax Support Scheme. It's proposing a reduction to the maximum amount equivalent to 80% of the Council Tax payable for Bands A to D and 65.6% of the Council Tax payable for Bands E to H.
The Council Tax band of every household is decided by the Valuation Office Agency. This is an executive agency sponsored by HM Revenue and Customs which gives the government valuation and property advice to support taxation and benefit frameworks. Local councils are not able to alter this framework.
Since April 2023, local authorities in England have been allowed to increase Council Tax by up to 4.99% per year, including the social care precept. Any proposed increase above this level would require a local referendum.