An online petition calling for Council Tax to be abolished for every person in the UK claiming their State Pension has passed a significant milestone in just a few days and now awaits an official response to the proposal. The petition has received more than 17,300 signatures of support - at 10,000 a response is required from the UK Government - however, Parliament is in recess until April 17, which means that may not come until later next week.
Petition creator, Brian Hildersley, proposes that pensioners should be exempt from paying Council Tax as some older people are spending ‘around 30 per cent’ of their State Pension income on that bill alone. The removal of the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme has also put pensioner households under additional pressure this month.
Basic and New State Pension payments increased this week by 10.1 per cent for some 12.6 million older people across the country, including around one million living in Scotland. It’s important to be aware that State Pension is paid in arrears, so the first payment this month will contain a mix of old and new rates.
