Help for the most vulnerable

More than £6.1m of the Government’s Council Tax Hardship Fund is being passed on to thousands of residents, many of whom have lost their jobs or been furloughed due to the crisis, so they can buy food and pay bills.

The money is going to working age people eligible to pay reduced Council Tax due to their low incomes. Other vulnerable groups have been identified by the council to receive the rest of the money so the greatest number of residents can be supported.

In the region of 23,500 people in Newcastle who pay reduced levels of Council Tax will each receive £150 towards their Council Tax bill of which 15,000 households will not pay any Council Tax - provided their circumstances do not change later in the year.

Residents who currently receive Council Tax support do not need to contact the council, as it will automatically issue a new Council Tax bill in the next couple of weeks.

In anticipation of a significant increase in new claims for help paying Council Tax the council has identified the following new groups for help:

• Self-employed people who no longer qualify for Council Tax reduction due to changes the council mad to its Council Tax reduction scheme on 1 April 2020 

• Self-employed people receiving Council Tax reduction

• People in receipt of Universal Credit who get an extra £20 per week from the Government

 This is how the council will spend the remaining money:

• £150,000 to help people pay for food and bills through the council’s Crisis Support Scheme

• Financial assistance to people in genuine hardship

• Amend the council’s Crisis Support scheme to allow recipients to cash-in voucher payments or enable payments to be paid into bank accounts where PayPoints are closed or out of cash