Will councils introduce terminal illness rule?

This week, Manchester council announced it was making a ‘pioneering’ move by writing off council tax bills for terminally ill Mancs.

The new policy says a household will have nothing to pay if a medic believes one resident at the address — a child or adult — has fewer than 12 months to live. Support will be in place until the date the person in question passes away.

Manchester’s policy was brought in to cut-down stress for families facing a bereavement, according to Bev Craig, council leader.

She said: “The moment when you or your family member gets the devastating news of terminal illness is heartbreaking. The last thing you need to worry about money and bills, but we know for too many people it takes up too much time and stress.

“Too many people are living in poverty in our city and the council is committed to doing all it can to alleviate it in the short term, and build ways out of poverty in the long term.

“That’s why we are exempting people with a terminal illness from council tax alongside a wider package of support with the cost of living, doing everything in our power to ensure families have one less thing to worry about during such a difficult time.”

It’s a policy town hall bosses worked on with charity Marie Curie, whose senior policy manager said he ‘hoped’ other local authorities would replicate the policy.

Jamie Thunder 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 therefore delighted that Manchester City Council are taking this pioneering step, which will make a real difference to people with a terminal illness at the time they need it most. We hope other councils in the north west and across the country will follow suit, and help to ensure that no-one dies in poverty.”

To see if Greater Manchester’s other nine councils will follow suit, the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked each authority what its plans are.

Tameside council said it will examine what Manchester has done, and consider individual cases when pursuing arrears.

A Tameside council spokesperson said: “We will look in more detail at what Manchester have introduced with Marie Curie as part of our policy review. We are committed to collecting Council Tax in a balanced, ethical, supportive, and timely manner.

“When deciding whether or not to pursue payment of council tax, we will always consider people’s individual circumstances. Our officers follow our policies and procedures which make recommendations regarding collection if a resident is terminally ill.”

For more information on council tax in Tameside, see here.