In early 2018, Derek Brown’s wife Margaret was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Shortly after, Derek began to realise how difficult it was for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia to exercise their rights and in particular, to obtain the council tax reduction they are entitled to.
Derek launched a petition to encourage the government to change the rules so that those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia and their families could benefit sooner from the council tax reductions they’re entitled to. This has now been entered into Hansard and will be considered by parliament when it returns. In the meantime, he’s appealing to the public to write to their MPs and urge them to support his campaign.
The current rules
Those living with others can claim a 25% council tax reduction, while those living alone are entitled to a complete council tax exemption. However, although some councils award this from the date the dementia is certified, many do not, as they are not currently required to give council tax reductions until an individual is in receipt of a qualifying state benefit. For those over state pension age, this is usually attendance allowance. For those who are younger, this might be disability living allowance or personal independence payments.
The current system means that those with Alzheimer’s and dementia could wait months, or even years to receive the council tax deduction they’ve been entitled to since much earlier. This is because many suffers and their carers are not aware of the allowances they’re entitled to, and the application process can take many months. In the meantime, families face the increasing costs of caring for a loved one with dementia.
According to research by King’s College London and the London School of Economics, over one million people in the UK are now living with dementia and over 60% of them are living at home. This means that over 600,000 people are being cared for at home and are incurring the associated costs.
Hoping for change
Brown hopes to see the government change the rules so that councils are required to backdate the council tax reduction to when the person was certified by their GP as severely mentally impaired. This would allow those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia and their families more money to go towards the costs of caring for them.
A freedom of information request put to 382 billing councils by Brown in 2020 found that 255 of those councils didn’t backdate council tax. Figures provided to him by the councils across the UK indicated that 152,381 out of a total of 177,542 dementia-affected families, do not receive the full council tax discount.
Brown says:
“If you take the UK national average ‘D’ band council tax and work out the 25% discount over 6 months and then 6 years it works out as between £200 and £2,600. If you do the same for the 100% exemption it works out as between £800 and £10,400”.
The next steps
Brown’s MP, Rishi Sunak, has presented the petition to parliament. It was put to Hansard on 16 June, although nothing is likely to happen until the summer recess ends in September. In the meantime, Brown hopes to spread the word and get as many people behind his campaign as possible.
Brown has received considerable support from Alzheimer’s Society, their head of policy Gavin Terry condemns the current situation:
“It’s absolutely criminal that people with dementia aren’t getting the financial help they are entitled to”, he says.
“As it stands, people with severe dementia are eligible for discounts or even exemptions on their council tax, but we know from talking to people affected by dementia that they often aren’t aware of these crucial entitlements.
“What is even more confusing, is that some local authorities are not backdating the discount to the point at which a person is certified as having severe dementia, while others are – this is unfair, and this is what Derek’s campaign is seeking to change.”
Brown is encouraging everyone to reach out to their MP and ask them to support the campaign once it gets to parliament. You can find your MP via this website and email them directly about this. Point them towards the Hansard entry that has more information. And perhaps share this article with them.
More information on council tax discounts for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients can be found on Alzheimer’s Society’s website.
