Our response to the Welsh Government’s consultation on a fairer council tax

The Bevan Foundation have submitted written evidence to the Welsh Government as part of their consultation on developing a fairer council tax.

he Welsh Government recently called for written evidence as part of its consultation to develop a fairer council tax system. The Bevan Foundation broadly welcomed the proposals set out by the Welsh Government but did raise some areas where we felt the plans could be improved further:

• Whilst council tax revaluation is overdue and to be welcomed, retaining a model of taxation that is primarily based on property value as opposed to income means that the system will continue to have unfair elements. The Welsh Government must bring forward plans to reform this in the medium term. 
• There is a need to consider the revaluation process alongside the annual council tax setting process. Some households that are rebanded could see their bills increase significantly. 
• We believe that there remain significant improvements that could be made to council tax debt collection practices with more focus on prevention rather than enforcement. 
• The current system of discounts, disregarded persons and exemptions are not fit for purpose. It does not target support effectively and its complexity can often lead households to miss out on support they are entitled to. Abolishing the single person discount and reinvesting the funding to increase the number of households eligible for Council Tax Reduction Scheme could be a more effective approach to supporting households. 

Our response to the questions set out by the Welsh Government can be read in full below. 

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