Sheffield LibDems want the council to ‘oppose any attempt to abolish the single-person council tax discount’

At next week’s full council meeting, the chamber will discuss a motion tabled by the Liberal Democrat group to save the single council tax discount following reports of it being in danger as part of the government’s money-saving plans.

Although it is also reported that the discount won’t be scrapped – this is what Downing Street suggested -, councillors will be able to have a vote on the LibDems’ proposal.

In the motion, to be given by Cllr Kurtis Crossland and to be seconded by Cllr Rebecca Atkinson, the group wants the council to note the distress of the “potential removal of the 25 per cent council tax discount for single-person households, following the deputy prime minister’s refusal to rule it out during weeks of questioning”.

The motion says there are eight million households that would be hit if the discount were to be scrapped.

The motion calls the council to declare that it believes “the single-person council tax discount needs to remain to provide essential financial relief to those who rely on it”.

The Liberal Democrats want Sheffield City Council to “oppose any attempt to abolish the single-person council tax discount” as well as ask the chief executive to write to Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, “conveying this message and highlighting the detrimental impact of recent policies on the most vulnerable in our community”.