Martin Lewis: Don't trust councils' online info about the Council Tax Carers Discount – one in five English and Welsh councils get it wrong

We checked the online information – websites, PDFs, application forms – of over 200 councils (there are 318 responsible for Council Tax billing in England and Wales). We found that:

• 69 councils, including seven London boroughs, state incomplete – and therefore incorrect – criteria. This means a minimum of one in five councils are displaying incorrect info. This discount can knock 25% or 50% off a Council Tax bill – with a 25% discount typically worth £500 a year.

• A further 80 councils failed to include ANY easily available information online about the qualifying benefits needed to get the discount.

This is very likely to deter a decent chunk of the up to five million unpaid carers from claiming. Those eligible for this discount must be caring for someone who receives one of several disability benefits – but it's some of the most common disability benefits that councils are missing from their info.  
 
This affects a wide range of people, including those where a parent is looking after an adult child, an adult child looking after a parent, and adult siblings looking after an adult brother or sister.

The likely cause of the problem is many councils haven't updated their websites since Carer rules changed in 2013

The live-in Carer Council Tax discount means the Carer is disregarded for Council Tax purposes. So, if they were the only person in the house with the person they're caring for, it's as if there's only one person resident, so that household would be eligible for the 25% single person discount (this discount could increase if the person being cared for is eligible for the 'Severe Mental Impairment' disregard too).

To qualify for the live-in Carer discount:  

1. Applicants need to provide at least 35 hours of free care a week to somebody in their household who isn’t a spouse, partner or child under 18.

2. The person being cared for needs to be receiving one of a number of qualifying benefits. Prior to the reforms in 2013, these were:
   
   - Attendance Allowance – higher rate.
   - Constant Attendance Allowance – increased amount.
   - Disability Living Allowance – care component, higher rate.
   - Disablement Pension – increased rate.
   
   Since 2013, it has also included the following – and it is these benefits that councils largely mistakenly excluded:
   
   - Armed Forces Independence Payment – any amount.
   - Attendance Allowance – lower rate.
   - Disability Living Allowance – care component, middle rate.
   - Personal Independence Payment – daily living component, enhanced rate.
   - Personal Independence Payment – daily living component, standard rate.  
   
   The qualifying benefits needed for the live-in Carer Council Tax discount differ in Scotland, so this has not formed part of our investigation.

The investigation shows a majority of the 69 offending councils wrongly stated that people being cared for on these benefits:

• Only qualify if they're being paid the higher rate of Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment.

• Do not mention Armed Forces Independence Payment or Personal Independence Payment at all.

• Or, in the worst cases, it's a combination of these issues, plus more.

Who's most likely to be affected by the errors

Carers most likely to be affected are those looking after someone who needs regular help and supervision, but not necessarily round-the-clock. In these cases, the person receiving care is more likely to be on the lower rates of the qualifying benefits – which were more often missed from councils' eligibility info.

Those providing 24/7 care could still be affected, though it's somewhat less likely because the person being cared for should then be getting the highest rates of the qualifying benefits, which councils tended to include in their criteria.

MSE was first alerted to the issue by a user who got in touch after telling us they were incorrectly rejected for the discount by their council and said they only managed to successfully claim with help from a specialist charity.

Martin Lewis: 'Unpaid carers who thought they weren't eligible should check again'

'Carers are often at a financial disadvantage'

Helen Walker, chief executive at the charity Carers UK, said: "Unpaid carers provide support worth a staggering £184 billion to the UK economy each year, but this comes at a significant personal and financial cost. They are often at a financial disadvantage because caring for someone can impact your ability to work and additional expenses – such as specialist food and clothing, and higher electricity bills – add to everyday living costs.

"Nearly half (49%) of unpaid carers have cut back on essentials in the past year and a third (32%) have taken out a loan from the bank, used credit cards or a bank overdraft. 60% of unpaid carers feel anxious or stressed when they think about their financial situation. Unpaid carers are frequently time poor and exhausted from the amount of administration they have to deal with in their caring roles.

"It's simply unacceptable that carers are presented with the wrong information when they are so urgently in need of help. It's essential that they have the right facts about council tax discounts in front of them to help them claim what they're entitled to. This could be a lifeline for many families, helping to relieve some of the pressure they feel and making an important difference to their ability to make ends meet."

Councils getting it wrong on the live-in Carer Council Tax discount