Terminally ill people don’t need to pay council tax in some areas of England – is yours included?

TERMINALLY ill people can get council tax reductions or even be exempt from paying at all in some areas of England. A total of 27 local authorities across the country have introduced the exemptions or reductions for terminally ill residents. Terminally ill people can get exemptions on their council tax bills from local authorities Credit: Getty It was part of a campaign by end of life charity Marie Curie to help people struggling with finances after a terminal diagnosis. Research by Marie Curie has found working age people are at a 32% higher risk of poverty in the last year of their lives. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! There was a 23% higher risk for pensioners. Council tax is a charge you have to pay on your home and it pays for local services including social care, rubbish collection and street lighting. The average council tax for a Band D property is around £2,392 a year. You might qualify for a discount if you, your partner, or a family member including a child is terminally ill. You can apply for the discount by asking your GP to fill out an SR1 form, which confirms you are likely to die within the next 12 months. Manchester City Council was the first to introduce the new rules after Marie Curie launched its campaign last summer. Most read in Money Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who was then the Mayor of Greater Manchester, had thrown his support behind the campaign. Manchester has since been followed by 26 other councils across the country, including Liverpool, Hull and Bristol. More are set to introduce the scheme in the coming months. This means a further 74,000 people across the country could qualify for council tax relief if the remaining local authorities join in. Marie Curie is calling for all councils to adopt the measure and says it could make a huge difference to terminally ill people. Becca Stacey, the charity’s senior policy manager for financial security, said: “For more than one in six people who die in the UK each year, the last period of life is marked by financial difficulty. “People are often no longer able to work, and can face rising costs for energy, transport and vital medical equipment. “It can mean additional stress and social isolation at the worst possible time.” Full list of councils that provide the exemption Barnsley Wakefield County Durham Kingston upon Hull North Lincolnshire Gateshead Newcastle upon Tyne Manchester Sefton Liverpool Wirral Knowsley Cheshire West and Chester Salford Blackburn with Darwen Burnley Pendle Preston Camden Barnet Broxtowe Gedling Newark and Sherwood Milton Keynes Wealden Elmbridge Bristol. Comment now