to think not everyone realises that Council Tax Benefit will disappear from April?

[aufaniae]

How this might affect you depends on your postcode as it will be up to councils how they manage the collection of council tax.

For those currently on low incomes - we may well lose Council Tax Benefit all together

Those of you with second homes / empty properties - your local council may decide to do away with discounts. Some are proposing charging double for second homes.

Article here: "The peer who designed the "poll tax" has warned that Council Tax Benefit cuts risk creating a "poll tax Mark 2"."

Each council could do it differently. Do you know what your council is proposing?

"I think it is scaremongering to assume that people will be pushed further into poverty"

Really? So you think barely any money + more bills doesn't mean the same as being pushed further into poverty?

We pay full council tax anyway, £130 a month, with an income of a smidge under 12K net - goodness knows how poor we'd have to be to actually get any CT benefit. I bet our council will be one of the ones that does away with it completely!

I think barely any money and poverty needs to be defined. Because I think different people have different ideas of what that means. I'm not being difficult because I think it's a point.

I agree with your last post Vivienne, very much so. But on your last post, I don't think it makes a difference if a student has a family or not. If they have a family to support, then they probably shouldn't be doing a PHD, because paying for your children has to come first.

Goth, it won't be more bills. Council tax already exists, this isn't anything new.

Our council will be counting CB as part of assessable income. That's all I've heard as of yet.

Most of the income students receive is in loans. Of course they shouldn't be expected to fork out for council tax. Their income is far too low.

I totally agree that 2nd home owners should pay full rate. They are bringing this in in my tourist area. If they cannot afford it then let the homes to families that need them.

I pay full whack and always have done, with a discount, it equates to around 9% of my take home pay

This is the reason why a lot of young and not so young people are living still at home with their parents. They are earning money but not enough for travel, rent and Council Tax and other bills. I think the tax threshold has to come down a lot more to help people be independent.

I think the distinction between benefit and discount/exemption should be clarified - benefit is means tested whereas discount is based on circumstances, for example the status of the occupants (student, visiting military etc). A student who qualifies for exemption but lives with a non-student (or several) is not jointly liable for the discounted bill. They are disregarded and are not named on the bill or account but are listed as disregarded occupants. If a household is made up of students and non-students of course they can choose to split the bill between them but legally the students are not liable.

I'm a student and my name's on our bill...have always been told it's the household that's responsible, not the individual. If it's the case that students are exempt then it seems stupid for my income to have meant we/DH couldn't get CT benefit.

I know about this as I've had a letter. It says I will have to make a contribution (fair enough) bit no details about how much yet.

I'm starting to wonder why i bother working at all. I'm sick of not having a pot to piss in even though i work dam hard.
I'm finding it a struggle to pay the bills as it is and if they take that couple of pound away from me each week, it will put me into the red.

"Those who currently receive no ct benefit will not have to pay more unless the ct goes up.they will not be paying more because of the changes in benefit rules"

They might if they are supporting DC at university, and the local council decides not to exempt students any more, or if they have a second home.

I am finding it hard to work out whether the current students' exemption has been protected or not. Some people here say not. DP has read the parliamentary notes (Hansard) today to try to work it out. No mention of students, but that could be because our exemption isn't protected.

I'm !

I'd really like to find a reliable source so I can show it to the Student Union.

Council tax in this country is ludicrously high and the reason for this is the ridiculous final salary pensions that council employees receive. Hopefully this will lead to an outcry and councils will have to streamline and stop wasting money.

ChristmasNamechangeBridezilla that's a depressing prediction of what will happen, but pretty spot on I imagine

'But on your last post, I don't think it makes a difference if a student has a family or not. If they have a family to support, then they probably shouldn't be doing a PHD, because paying for your children has to come first.'

I'm late to this. But ... can you tell me when you think academics should get trained, then?

Education is one of the UK's biggest money-spinners. Training as an academic requires a PhD. Most people will be around 28 when they finish, and will then get two-year contracts (or less) for a few years after that - and often those are extremely hard to fit around having children.

Do you think academics shouldn't have children? Or that fewer people should go into academia, because it doesn't really matter?

Making it harder for students to do their jobs (and PhD students are doing jobs, because they provide the cheap labour in terms of teaching and, for sciences, lab work that keeps universities ticking over) is going to affect UK universities.

Btw - I think it varies, but my PhD grant is calculated to assume it's minimum wage so long as I don't pay tax. Including CT. It's paid by the government.

No idea how to link on iPad, but Birmingham council has said all working age people, inc students, will pay at least 24 per cent of the charge - you need to search your local council as they are all different

"If they have a family to support, then they probably shouldn't be doing a PHD, because paying for your children has to come first."

Not occurred that they might be looking at how to support the family long term then?

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Student exemption is discretionary and up to each LA.

And tbh I have no sympathy for those who lose the second home discount. People with more than one home shouldn't have had a discount in the first place (IMHO )

And what I ment was more than there actual ct bill.

Hoping my dh finds permanent work by April then or we are fucked, lets hope its not cold by then as another bill totalling to £115 or more, if they up it, will leave us with no money for gas bill. Oh wait there its all our fault, yeh because of course we all choose to be made redundant, cheated on, disabled or on low wages!
Oh well how about i don't bother paying it, will have hot water & gas in prison aswell as food, gym, hairdresser etc etc

OK, found some policies on students.

Manchester seem to be continuing to award exemptions.

Wandsworth on the other hand are doing away with the exemption altogether for most students (with some exceptions e.g. lone parent / disabled students / those under 21 in further - NOT higher - education etc)

What is council tax benefit? I work part time on a low income as a single parent and get 25% discount , is there something else i'm entitled to?

Stepmumm use this calculator to get an idea of what you're entitled to.