Date published: 11 February 2022
Council tax bill
Thousands of households in the borough of Rochdale are set to benefit from an additional £150 cut to council tax, due to be agreed this month.
All homes in council tax bands A to D are already being given a £150 rebate through support provided by the government. This one-off discount will be deducted from council tax bills to qualifying households and does not need to be repaid. 93% of homes in the Rochdale borough are in bands AD.
read more: Govt pledges support to help households with soaring energy costsPublished: 03 February 2022
However, the council has also asked for additional support in light of the cost of living crisis that has seen the price of energy, fuel and other basics increase sharply in recent months.
As a result, a second £150 rebate is available for some of the borough’s residents.
The council will be automatically reducing bills for about 14,700 homes where bill payers are of working age and currently qualify for local council tax support. The £150 discount will also be given to anyone of working age who becomes eligible for local council tax support at any time during 2022/23.
Any bills that are less than £150 will be automatically set to zero, meaning there will be nothing to pay throughout the year.
Despite the forthcoming reductions, council tax is set to increase by 2.99% this year, meaning there will be a £34.43 increase for those in Band A and £51.65 in Band D to the element of council tax which goes to the local council for general services and adult care.
read more: Meeting about 2022/23 council budget – including 3% council tax hike in Rochdale – canceled as not enough councillors turned up Published: 09 February 2022
The Greater Manchester Mayor’s policing precept will increase by £10 for Band D properties and an increase of £12 (for Band D properties) for his general precept – including fire services – is expected to be confirmed later this month.
Band A households – which are the majority of properties in Rochdale – would see an overall rise of just over £49 taking their total annual bill to £1,406.83 before any government or council discounts.
Council leader Neil Emmott said: “As councillors we know that there are many households in our borough that are struggling to make ends meet and we also know that we have a responsibility as a council to help those that are most in need.
“This discount will make a huge difference to people whose bills are already discounted because of their personal circumstances and I am proud that we are providing this additional support.”
The £150 reduction is in addition to the local council tax support given to low-income households of working age.
The amount of local council tax support given depends on household income and can be a discount of up to 85 per cent. You can find out if you qualify for local council tax support via the council’s website.
The additional reduction will be automatically taken off the annual bills of those that qualify so there is no need for anyone to apply.
Residents can also apply to the Household Support Fund which helps people and households meet the cost of food, energy bills, housing costs and other essential items.
Councilor Emmott added: “We hope that this new discount will go some way to helping households who are finding it difficult to cope with the increasing cost of living. There is lots of other support available from the council so people should always check what they are entitled to.”
Councillors are expected to recommend the new discount is included in the council’s budget for 2022/23 when the cabinet committee meets on Tuesday 22 February.
