Modelling council tax support schemes: automation, banding, generosity and beyond
27 March
As we head into the main billing periods for 2024/5, adding Council Tax Reduction Schemes (CTRS) for 2025/6 to your To Do list might raise a few eyebrows. Yet, with the medium term financial outlook for many local authorities resting on a knife edge, now is the time to start planning.
Council Tax Reduction is one of the only welfare provisions decided at the local level and now, with ten years of evidence and experience, modelling schemes to serve your residents as well as your collection rates should be easier every year.
However, the changing funding landscape for local authorities, threats to budgets and the cost of living crisis all mean that CTRS modelling can be more complex than ever.
Since 2013/14 when the first CTR schemes were launched, Policy in Practice has modelled scheme options for local authorities, researched the impact of CTR and worked to maximise gains for both council and residents.
Listen back to hear
- How early adopters of CTR banded schemes are now refining their approaches
- How automation is increasing collection rates and improving internal efficiency
- Why increasing the generosity of your CTR scheme will lead to better collection rates and reduced staff costs

The administrative savings with banded schemes aren't just in benefit assessment, they're also in council tax revenue collection and billing.

It's really about how you can reduce admin costs and maximise automation to make your scheme more efficient across the council.

We're very attuned to any policy changes that can affect your scheme and we will match that accordingly.