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Deputy First Minister Angela Rayner did not rule out the abolition of the single person tax discount when questioned in parliament on Monday.
Rayner, who is also the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, was questioned by former Conservative minister Graham Stuart, who said the cut was “so important” for pensioners, many of whom now face losing their winter fuel allowance.
After urging Rayner to rule out scrapping the rebate, the deputy prime minister said it was “astonishing” that after the Tories had “smashed the economy” during their government, they were now trying to claim that Labour “wants to raise taxes”.
“This government wants to make sure that working people are better off and that is our intention,” she said.
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> What discounts are available?
> Who is eligible?
> Arguments for discounts for singles
> The arguments against
What discounts are there for single-person households?
If you live alone, you are entitled to a 25% discount on your usual council tax in England, Wales and Scotland.
Northern Ireland does not have this, although single pensioners aged 70 or over may be entitled to a 20% discount. UK residents can contact their local council to check eligibility and apply.
In Scotland, water and sewerage charges are included in the council tax paid, unless you have a water meter. This means that the same discount is applied to your water bill. Some, but not all, water companies in England offer discounts for single-person households.
Welsh Water does not offer a discount, while households in Northern Ireland do not pay any water charges at all.
Who is eligible for a discount on municipal tax for single people?
In England, Wales and Scotland, the single person discount applies if you are the only adult living in a home.
You may also be eligible if everyone in your household is classed as “disregarded people”. According to the Gov.uk website, this applies to the following people.
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Under 18 years old
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People who participate in certain student programs
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18 or 19 year olds who attend full-time education.
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Full-time students at university or college
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Young people under 25 receive funding from the Education and Skills Funding Agency
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Student nurses
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Foreign Language Assistants registered with the British Council.
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Severely mentally handicapped
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A live-in caregiver for someone who is not your partner, spouse or child under 18
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A diplomat
For example, if you work full-time, but your other two housemates study full-time, your household will still qualify for the single person discount.
Arguments for the discount for singles
Although abolishing the discount for single people, single mothers or disabled people living with a carer would cost more money, campaigners say it would hit older people particularly hard.
Dennis Reed, director of seniors’ group Silver Voices, told the Daily Express: “The single person’s discount will help a lot of widows and widowers. They will already be struggling after the winter fuel discounts, which came out of nowhere and were cruel and abusive.”
When the Local Government Association (LGA) called for the abolition of the single people’s tax credit in 2014, then-local government minister Brandon Lewis said: “The single people’s council is an integral part of the council tax system because single people use local services less than larger households.”
He said scrapping the discount would amount to a “Bridget Jones” tax that unfairly punishes people who live alone, Public Finance Magazine reported.
Arguments against discounts for one person
Contrary to Lewis’ reference to the hit 2000s romantic comedy, the LGA argued at the time that maintaining the rebate would amount to a rebate for “rich singles”.
The report found local authorities lost more than £200 million because the discount was only applied to people living in large homes.
A proposal to the Ministry of Finance called for municipalities to be given the freedom to decide whether to abolish the discount in the four highest municipal tax brackets: E, F, G and H.
Peter Fleming, chairman of the LGA’s improvement board, said councils in trouble “face the unpalatable choice of reducing the council tax rebate for the working poor or making further cuts to local services” because the rebate is set centrally.
It is often argued that single-person households make less use of municipal services, such as waste collection, and should therefore be entitled to a discount.
However, a report from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), also from 2014, casts doubt on this.
It was stated that while larger households produced more food waste, which was not surprising, the average amount of waste per person was highest in single-person households.
“Compared to larger households, a higher proportion of waste in single-person households was caused by food not being used in time.”
Other research shows that managing food is more difficult in smaller households than in larger households, as it can be harder and more expensive to find food in the right size packages.
Come back on Friday to read the results and analysis.
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