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Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner did not rule out the option of scrapping single-person relief on council tax when pressed on the issue in parliament on Monday.
Rayner, who is also secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, was questioned by former Conservative minister Graham Stuart, who said the discount was “very significant” for pensioners, many of whom were now in danger of losing their winter fuel allowance.
After urging Rayner to abandon the possibility of removing the reduction, the Deputy Prime Minister said it was “astounding” that the Conservative Party, which “crashed the economy” while in power, was now claiming that Labour “wants to raise taxes”.
“The aim of this government is to make working people better off and that is what we aim to do,” he said.
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> What discounts are available?
> Who can participate?
> Arguments for single person discounts
> Counter arguments
What discounts are available for single-person households?
If you live alone, you are entitled to 25% off your normal council tax bill in England, Wales and Scotland.
This is not available in Northern Ireland, but single pensioners aged 70 and over may be eligible for a 20% discount. UK residents can contact their local council to check if they are eligible and apply.
In Scotland, if you don’t have a water meter, the cost of water and sewerage is included in the council tax you pay, meaning the same discount will apply to your water bills. Some, but not all, water companies in the UK offer single room discounts.
Welsh Water does not offer any discounts and households in Northern Ireland do not pay for water.
Who is eligible for single person council tax reliefs?
In England, Wales and Scotland, single person discounts apply if you are the only adult living in a household.
If everyone else in your household is classed as “disregarded persons” you may be eligible. According to the Gov.uk website, this applies to the following people.
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Under 18 years old
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Individuals in certain apprenticeship programs
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18 or 19 year olds in full-time education.
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Full-time university or college students
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Funding for under-25s from the Education and Skills Funding Agency
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Student nurses
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Foreign language assistants registered with the British Council.
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Severely mentally retarded
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A live-in caregiver for someone who is not your spouse, partner, or child under 18
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A diplomat
For example, if you work full-time but your other two roommates are full-time college students, your household still qualifies for the single person discount.
Arguments for single person discount
The removal of singles’ discounts would leave single mothers or disabled people living with a carer with more money out of pocket, with campaigners saying the elderly would be particularly hard hit.
Speaking to the Daily Express, Dennis Reed, director of senior citizens group Silver Voices, said: “The single person discount helps many widows and widowers. They will already be struggling after the winter fuel cuts, these cuts have come suddenly and are as harsh as they are draconian.”
When the case for the removal of single-person discount was brought by the Local Government Association (LGA) in 2014, then local government minister Brandon Lewis said: “Single-person councils are a long-standing feature of the council tax system and reflect the reality that single adults benefit less from local services than larger households.”
He said removing the rebate would amount to a “Bridget Jones” tax that unfairly penalised people living alone, Public Finance Magazine reported.
Arguments against single person discounts
Contrary to Lewis’ reference to the hit 2000s romantic comedy film series, LGA argued at the time that continuing the discount would amount to a “rich bachelor” discount.
Local authorities have reportedly lost more than £200 million due to the discounts given to single people living in large homes.
A petition to the Treasury has called for councils to be given the freedom to decide whether to remove the reduction for the four highest council tax brackets – E, F, G and H.
Because the discount was set centrally, the LGA’s improvement board chairman Peter Fleming said struggling councils were “faced with the unenviable choice of whether to reduce council tax relief for the working poor or make further cuts to local services”.
It is often argued that one-person households make less use of municipal services, for example waste collection services, and therefore should receive discounts.
However, the 2014 Waste and Resource Action Programme (WRAP) report again raises doubts on this issue.
It was noted that larger households produce more food waste, which is not surprising, but the average amount of waste per person is highest in single-person households.
“A greater proportion of waste in one-person households, compared to large households, is due to food not being consumed on time.”
It says other research has shown that food management is more difficult in smaller households than in larger ones, because food can be harder and more expensive to find in appropriately sized packages.
Come back on Friday to read the results and analysis.
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