Bristol one of first places in UK to exempt terminally ill people from council tax
End of life charity Marie Curie welcomes the decision
Terminally ill people living in Bristol will be made exempt from paying council tax.
It follows a unanimous vote in favour of an amendment to the annual Council Tax Reduction Scheme.
Anyone with a terminal illness will be added to Bristol City Council’s ‘Section 13A award’, which provides council tax exemptions to people in exceptional circumstances.
The amendment was put forward by Bristol Labour leader Tom Renhard, and follows a similar policy introduced in Manchester.
Research by end of life charity Marie Curie shows that in Bristol, 30% of working-age people are dying in poverty and 17% of pensioners are dying in poverty.
Marie Curie, who have been campaigning on the issue through their ‘Cost of Dying’ campaign, welcomed the news.
Jamie Thunder, Senior Policy Manager for Financial Security at Marie Curie, said:
“The end of life should be a time to focus on what really matters – but for too many people, it’s dominated by financial difficulty as their income drops and costs rise.
“We’re delighted that Bristol City Council has become one of the first in the country to provide specific support with council tax to people facing a terminal illness. We would like to thank all parties within the committee for voting unanimously for this change. We hope to expand our campaign further, with more councils across England following suit to ease the financial burden on people at the end of life.”
Councillor Tom Renhard, Leader of Bristol Labour said: “I’m proud that councillors endorsed our proposal to exempt Bristolians with a terminal illness from paying council tax. Too many people are dying in poverty. Bristol can and should always protect its most vulnerable. This is an important step in the right direction and shows our city’s intent to do all we can to support those who need it.
“The last thing anyone with a terminal diagnosis needs is the stress of invoices piling up. This council tax exemption means there is one less weight on their shoulders. Bristol is one of the only major cities to offer the worst-off up to a 100% discount on their council tax bills. I’m glad that, after Manchester, we’re one of the first to exempt terminally ill people from council tax too.
“Marie Curie have been instrumental in pushing for more support for people at the end of their life. My thanks goes to them for their vital work improving the quality of life for those facing a terminal illness.”