Low take-up for council tax hardship fund

Slough Borough Council's tax hardship support fund has had a low take-up

A council tax hardship support fund has had a low take-up since the start of the financial year, with just 26 applications being awarded a payment.

Slough Borough Council's corporate improvement scrutiny committee heard that only 5% of eligible residents had applied for support.

Council tax support (CTS) is a benefit that helps low-income residents and covers a percentage of the bill depending on their circumstances.

Director of revenue and welfare services Andy Jeffs said: "I don't want to have anything left at the end of the financial year if there are people out there suffering financial hardship."

The level of support was cut by Slough Borough Council for this year amid the authority's ongoing financial challenges.

All residents who receive council tax support can also apply to receive extra help from the council tax hardship support fund (CTHSF).

The £350,000 fund was introduced this year, and the authority received 337 applications out of the 6,466 residents who receive council tax support.

However, only 26 have received money from the hardship fund, while 93 have been refused and another 218 resident applications are either pending or waiting to be processed.

Applications can be refused if the council considers residents have a high enough income to cover their council tax, but "exceptional hardship" has not been defined in the policy.

Mr Jeffs said: "There are some difficult decisions that Slough had to make but we were still one of the more generous schemes across Berkshire.

"At the end of the day we want to make sure that the fund is fully maximised and fully spent. We set that money aside."

He added that he was not sure why there was such a low take-up for the fund.