Sir Sadiq Khan has raised concern that poorer Londoners will be hurt financially by changes to council tax benefit. The Standard revealed last week that thousands of the capital’s poorest residents were set to have to pay council tax for the first time due to the extent of the cash crisis faced by town halls.
Now Sir Sadiq has warned that the council tax support system “has become increasingly unsustainable and inequitable within London” and called on the Government to review the rules and funding. Mayoral documents said “carers, lone parents with children under five, and those on disability benefits” may have to pay for the first time – including a small amount to City Hall.
They said that, in extreme cases, working age families living in large properties in the capital’s most expensive boroughs could face council tax demands of up to £3,000 a year despite being on benefits. At present, the poorest pensioners and students have 100 per cent of their council tax paid by the Government while working age Londoners are dependent on schemes run by their borough.
But working age Londoners on benefits, including disabled Londoners, rely on councils to fund their own schemes. About half of the 33 boroughs, driven by the need to make widespread savings, have consulted on changing their council tax benefit schemes from April to limit their cost.
