Slough low-income residents will have council tax support reduced

Slough Borough Council has been accused of ‘hurting the most vulnerable residents’ after it approved plans to reduce its council tax support once again.

The Council Tax Support Scheme (CTS) is run by local authorities to support low-income residents with paying their council tax.

Slough Borough Council used to cover 100 per cent of the council tax bill for working age households not in employment.

Since April last year, the maximum discount unemployed residents can receive was reduced to 80 per cent, while working residents were able to get up to a 50 per cent discount.

But at a full council meeting held at Slough Borough Council’s headquarters yesterday (Thursday), councillors agreed the maximum discount for non-working residents will be further reduced to 70 per cent.

A 20 per cent reduction in the other discounts for working households, depending on income bands, was also agreed. Pensioners will not be affected by the changes.

Councillor Dexter Smith (Con, Colnbrook and Poyle) said: “We are still having to apply for Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the Government, we are still in intervention.

“This would bring us in line with the minimum provision [for council tax support] in Berkshire which is offered by three of the six Berkshire authorities.”

Reading Borough Council and West Berkshire Council currently offer a maximum reduction of 70 per cent, according to a report presented to councillors.

It said Wokingham Council offers 78 per cent as its maximum discount.

The scheme costs Slough Borough Council £10.45million but the proposed cuts would save £872,198 in council tax support for the 2026/27 financial year.

Cllr Puja Bedi (Con, Colnbrook and Poyle) said this is a ‘difficult but necessary’ decision to address the ‘financial reality’ of the town.

But other councillors said they can’t support these proposals because they would ‘hurt the most vulnerable residents’ in the borough.

Cllr Mark Instone (Lab, Langley Foxborough) said: “[These proposals] are hurting the most vulnerable people in Slough. Let’s just be clear about that.

“The people who need help the most are the ones who are going to be hurt the most by this. However we try to dress it up, that is the fact of the matter.”

Cllr Fiza Matloob (Lab, Baylis and Salt Hill) agreed and highlighted the council tax support scheme was already reduced last year.

“We haven’t really had any record of what the impact of that was, what lessons have been learnt. Now we’re being asked to reduce it again,” he added.

There are 6,466 working-age households that receive council tax support, and the majority of these, 5,545, will be impacted by the proposed further reductions.

For the affected households, the changes would result in a reduction of between £126 and £200 per year, the report said.

But Cllr Ishrat Shah (Con, Cippenham Green) said other forms of support, such as the Council Tax Support Hardship Fund is available for residents.

This is a pot of money available for those who are experiencing ‘extreme financial difficulty’ and are unable to pay their council tax.

Cllr Shah said: “[The opposition is] criticising us when we are managing the council through hadship and making sure everyone is treated equally and is supported.”

For the 2026/27 financial year, the hardship fund will be reduced from £350,000 to £175,000.

But councillors also agreed to ‘roll over’ £80,000 of unspent funds from this year’s pot into next year.

Ultimately, 20 councillors backed the reductions, with 13 votes against and four abstentions.

The changes will start from April 1.