Jump to content

Welfare benefits and mental illness - Council Tax

Recommended Posts

The council tax rules say that a person is exempt from council tax if they have a ‘severe mental impairment’. It says that "a person is severely mentally impaired if they have a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent".

 

To get this you need a doctor to sign a medical certificate that says you are severely mentally impaired and get one of the following benefits:

 

DLA with the middle or highest rate care component

Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Component (standard or enhanced rate)

Attendance Allowance

Severe Disablement Allowance

Employment and Support Allowance

Incapacity Benefit

Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance with a disability premium

Working Tax Credit with the disability element

 

This was on the news this morning and I haven't had time to really look into it, but I do know.........

1/ this is not upto the council to decide if they action this, IT IS THE LAW. They MUST award it to you .

2/ This can be BACK DATED, so if you were in this position three years ago they OWE YOU FOR THREE YEARS.

 

Rate deductions are as follows - A person living alone with this condition 100% rebate. In other words YOU should not pay council tax.

 

Two people living in the same house/flat etc. where one of you suffers from mental illness - You get a 25% reduction on your council Tax.

 

THIS IS LAW, don't get fobed off. Claim it.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41420078

 

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/discounts-for-disabled-people

 

You can apply for discounts here ----- https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/council-tax/council-tax-discounts-exemptions

Edited by Itrytoplease

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you for this. I thought I was fairly clued up on benefits but I was not aware of this. I will definitely pass on the info to anyone I think may be eligible.

 

I do have one question- in your list PIP Daily Living component is mentioned, however, when I follow your links to the Government info site, their list does not mention PIP-

 

https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/council-tax/council-tax-discounts-exemptions][/url]

 

Invalidity Pension/Long Term Incapacity Benefit

Attendance Allowance/Constant Attendance Allowance

Severe Disablement Allowance

highest/middle rate of care component of Disability Living Allowance

Disabled Person's Tax Credit

increase in Disablement Pension (because constant attendance is needed)

Unemployability Supplement/Allowance

Income Support with disability premium

Employment and Support Allowance

 

I am aware that many govt docs are out of date when it comes to PIP, but I'm wondering if you have a link to a govt page that does specifically list that PIP is one of the qualifying benefits?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've been looking for an hour plus so far and have not found a Gov. site that mentions it YET. However I find the following intresting.

 

2. Who has to pay

You’ll usually have to pay Council Tax if you’re 18 or over and own or rent a home.

A full Council Tax bill is based on at least 2 adults living in a home. Spouses and partners who live together are jointly responsible for paying the bill.

You’ll get 25% off your bill if you count as an adult for Council Tax and either:

you live on your own

no-one else in your home counts as an adult

You’ll usually get a 50% discount if no-one living in your home, including you, counts as an adult.

You won’t have to pay any Council Tax if everyone in your home, including you, is a full-time student.

Apply for a Council Tax discount.

 

Who doesn’t count as an adult?

These people are not counted as adults for Council Tax:

children under 18

people on some apprentice schemes

18 and 19-year-olds in full-time education

full-time college and university students

young people under 25 who get funding from the Skills Funding Agency or Young People’s Learning Agency

student nurses

foreign language assistants registered with the British Council

people with a severe mental impairment

live-in carers who look after someone who isn’t their partner, spouse, or child under 18

diplomats

 

https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/who-has-to-pay

 

As I read the above it tells me that if your a carer for someone who is not a reletive you are intitled to a rebate, as well as the disabled person. So if two of you live in the same house, one is a carer and one is disabled your intitled to 50% off your Council tax.

 

4. Discounts for disabled people

People who are severely mentally impaired aren’t included when working out Council Tax.

You also aren’t included if you’re a live-in carer looking after someone who isn’t your partner, spouse, or child under 18.

 

Benefits and tax credits you can claim as a carer

 

The person you’re caring for must also be getting a benefit because of their illness or disability, for example:

Attendance Allowance

Disability Living Allowance, or

Personal Independence Payment.

Carer’s Allowance is taxable and can also affect other benefits you might be already getting so you might be paid less in another benefit. It can also affect the benefits of the person you’re caring for.

You cannot usually get Carer’s Allowance if you are already claiming State Pension or certain income-replacing benefits such as contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance.

However, it’s still worth making a claim, although you will not get the benefit. If you qualify in all other respects then you might be entitled to top up income on other benefits you receive.

 

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/benefits-and-tax-credits-you-can-claim-as-a-carer#other-benefits-you-might-be-able-to-claim

 

The above mentions PIP, but it's not a Gov. site, still looking.

 

---------- Post added 02-10-2017 at 07:45 ----------

 

Exemption due to severe mental impairment

 

The council tax rules say that a person is exempt from council tax if they have a ‘severe mental impairment’. It says that "a person is severely mentally impaired if they have a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent".

 

To get this you need a doctor to sign a medical certificate that says you are severely mentally impaired and get one of the following benefits:

 

DLA with the middle or highest rate care component

Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Component (standard or enhanced rate)

Attendance Allowance

Severe Disablement Allowance

Employment and Support Allowance

Incapacity Benefit

Income Support or Jobseekers Allowance with a disability premium

Working Tax Credit with the disability element

 

https://www.rethink.org/living-with-mental-illness/money-issues-benefits-employment/welfare-benefits-and-mental-illness/council-tax

 

---------- Post added 02-10-2017 at 07:58 ----------

 

Council Tax and the Severely Mentally Impaired

By LGFA92 | December 8, 2016

0 Comments

 

severely mentally impairedWhere a person is deemed to be ‘Severely Mentally Impaired’ for Council Tax purposes then they may, where they meet the relevant criteria, be disregarded for the purposes of paying Council Tax. In some cases the property may become exempt from Council Tax.

 

We will consider this position in more depth below.

Legislation – Schedule 1 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992

 

The definition of Severe Mental Impairment is defined under Schedule 1 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This act, which lays out the basic framework of Council Tax, states that

 

The severely mentally impaired

2(1)A person shall be disregarded for the purposes of discount on a particular day if—

(a)on the day he is severely mentally impaired;

(b)as regards any period which includes the day he is stated in a certificate of a registered medical practitioner to have been or to be likely to be severely mentally impaired; and

©as regards the day he fulfils such conditions as may be prescribed by order made by the Secretary of State.

(2)For the purposes of this paragraph a person is severely mentally impaired if he has a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (however caused) which appears to be permanent.

(3)The Secretary of State may by order substitute another definition for the definition in sub-paragraph (2) above as for the time being effective for the purposes of this paragraph.

 

The 3 conditions, a – c, listed above under Section 2(1) of the Schedule, must be met to be disregarded. See below for further information regarding the condition required under Section 2(1c). (The definition of ‘Severely Mentally Impaired’ is given by Section 2(2)).

Conditions prescribed by the Secretary of State

 

Under Section 2(1c) of the Schedule given above the Secretary of State made an order that a third condition was to be required, in addition to those two conditions given under Section 2(1a) & 2(1b) of the Schedule.

 

This additional condition is laid out in the Council Tax (discount disregards) order 1992, as amended. Section 3(1) of the order states that

 

“The condition prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 2(1)© of Schedule 1 to the Act is that the person in question is entitled to one of the qualifying benefits…“.

 

Note that a key aspect of this condition is that a person only needs to be entitled to a qualifying benefit, not that they have to be in receipt of the qualifying benefit. This means a person doesn’t need to be actually receiving the benefit providing they can show they would be entitled to the benefit.

 

A list of the qualifying benefits (as of December 2016) is given below:

 

Incapacity Benefit.

Attendance Allowance.

Severe Disablement Allowance.

The Care Component of a Disability Living Allowance, payable at the middle or highest rate .

An increase in the rate of Disablement Pension, where constant attendance is needed.

Disability element of Working Tax Credit.

Unemployability Supplement.

Constant Attendance under a industrial injuries or war pension scheme.

Unemployability Allowance under a industrial injuries or war pension scheme.

Income Support where the applicable amount includes a disability premium.

Incapacity Benefit.

The standard or enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment.

Employment Support Allowance (Income Related or Contributory).

Armed Forces independence payment.

 

Do I have to have a specified illness to be severely mentally impaired ?

 

No, the regulations do not specify any particular illness to qualify (although some websites do wrongly suggest otherwise). Providing your Doctor believes you meet the definition of “severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (however caused) which appears to be permanent” then the particular illness is sufficient. Most claimants do suffer from Alzheimers, dementia etc. however this isn’t a requirement.

Can I be Severely Mentally Impaired and not eligible to be disregarded.

 

Yes – even if you meet the definition of having a “severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (however caused) which appears to be permanent” you must also meet the other criteria given above before any Council Tax reduction can be considered.

What happens if I’m disregarded and I’m liable for the Council Tax ?

 

It depends whether you’re solely liable for the Council Tax on the property or not :

 

If you are the sole adult occupier and liable person you will remain liable for Council Tax purposes however the property may then be exempt.

If you are the sole liable person but there are other adults resident you will remain liable for Council Tax purposes. The value of any reduction would depend on the Council Tax status of the other adult occupiers.

If you are a joint liable person then in most cases the other liable parties will become liable and responsible for paying the Council Tax. The value of any reduction would depend on the Council Tax status of the other adult occupiers.

 

How much reduction would I get ?

 

If all of the adult occupiers of the property are disregarded as ‘Severely Mentally Impaired’ then a property is exempt from Council Tax as per the Council Tax (exempt dwellings) order 1992, as amended. This is called a Class U Council Tax exemption. It should be noted that in some specific cases the Class U exemption may not apply and the maximum reduction will be limited to 50%.

 

If all of the adult occupiers of the property are not disregarded as ‘Severely Mentally Impaired’ then the amount of reduction can vary from 0% to 100% depending on the status of the other occupiers.

Are there any other reductions I can claim ?

 

It is always worth considering if you may be entitled to claim Council Tax Reduction (formerly Council Tax Benefit). Each local authority scheme is slightly different and so application needs to be made to them to see if you qualify.

 

A request may also be made for a discretionary reduction in Council Tax by way of Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

Backdating of reductions

 

There is nothing in Council Tax legislation which prevent backdating as far back in time as the eligibility criteria for the reduction are met. In some cases however a Local Authority may attempt to limit the backdating.

 

http://lgfa92.co.uk/council-tax-severe-mental-impairment/

 

This Is about as good as it's going to get. The coompany isn't part of the Gov. but the form IS.

Edited by Itrytoplease

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You've put a lot of work into that- thank you, much appreciated :)

 

I'll pass it on to as many people, who can benefit from it, as I can.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.