A resident has forwarded us the following email regarding the proposed changes to the council tax benefits. Please read the email and send your views online before the 2nd November 2012.

From: benefits@camden.gov.uk
Subject: Consultation on the new Council Tax Reduction Scheme
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2012 16:08:04 +0000

Dear Council Tax Payer

IMPORTANT CHANGES TO COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT

From April 2013, the Government has announced that Council Tax Benefit will no longer exist. From then every council will have its own local Council Tax Reduction Scheme, with its own local eligibility criteria. The amount of funding we receive from the Government will be reduced. Camden will get about £2.7 million less.

The Government has stated that people of state pension age who currently get Council Tax Benefit will continue to get the same amount of help towards their Council Tax bill as they do now. So in operating a local scheme the Council has to decide which people of working age should continue to get help to pay their Council Tax bills and how much this should be.

We are consulting on our proposed draft Council Tax Reduction Scheme and are seeking the views of local people on what the scheme should look like. Our consultation started on 10 August 2012 and runs until 2 November 2012.

Your views are important to us. Please read the background information and FAQs and then complete the online survey. These are all available at www.Camden.gov.uk/benefitchanges

Yours sincerely

Benefits Service