January 30, 2024 - 387 views
Councillors in Conwy have voted unanimously to continue the long standing arrangements to provide discretionary support to Armed Forces veterans and their families on low incomes.
The Council confirmed it would continue its existing Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2024/25, despite the significant financial pressures. Welsh Government recently announced that Conwy will receive the lowest budget increase in Wales of just 2% for 2024/25.
A key feature of the scheme is the decision to fully exclude income such as war pension, war widows pension and armed forces compensation scheme payments when the Council Tax reduction is calculated. This will mean low income households will receive a larger level of Council Tax support than they would have otherwise.
Reflecting on the discussion at the Council meeting, Cllr Nigel Smith, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Economy said: “Despite the incredibly difficult discussions and decisions that are taking place at the moment around setting next year’s budget, it was refreshing to see every single member of the Council voted to continue this important scheme without any changes.”
“We’re proud to be able to continue to provide low income armed forces veterans and their families with this vital support to help reduce their Council Tax.”
