Newark and Sherwood District Council agree to support motion to back Marie Curie’s Campaign for a Council Tax Exemption for the Terminally Ill
Newark and Sherwood District Council is set to become potentially the third council in the country to exempt terminally ill people from paying council tax.
At the district council’s full council meeting on Tuesday (October 21), a motion proposed by Jean Hall, which had been seconded by Paul Peacock, called for the council to back Marie Curie’s Campaign for a Council Tax Exemption for the Terminally Ill.
The cancer charity’s appeal urges councils across England to ensure that people with less than 12 months to live are exempt from paying council tax.
Manchester City Council became the first council to implement such a scheme for their local residents earlier this year, followed by Milton Keynes City Council last month.
Jean Hall said in the motion: “Newark and Sherwood District Council believes that people at the end of life should be able to focus on what really matters, but as life is often more expensive when you live with a terminal diagnosis, too many people are spending their final days, weeks and months struggling to make ends meet.
“Heating and other utilities go up because they need medical care and I want to propose this, I think it will make a big difference to a lot of people’s lives.”
The members voted unanimously to support the Marie Curie campaign at the meeting, and will establish a Policy & Performance Improvement Committee (PPIC) working group to consider implementing an appropriate policy, and will also write to other councils to urge them to do the same.
Lee Brazier said that he “fully supported” the motion, and hoped that other councils across the country as well as locally will do the same.
“It’s devastating when people get that diagnosis and for those families it’s the worst day of their lives where everything changes.
“For us to offer that support makes a big difference and I hope other authorities start looking at this too.”
Roger Jackson also agreed to appeal to the Secretary of State to make the motion a nationwide policy.
Tim Wildgust shared his own personal story, after his wife was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2016 and was sadly given a three-month prognosis.
“There’s other people in Newark and Sherwood who will get that diagnosis and I fully support what we’re doing here, but if there is a way to get it fast-tracked rather than go through lots of committees?”
Debbie Darby similarly said that this is a cause close to her heart, and that all the members should support it.
“It gives [terminally ill people] one less thing to worry about and the money saved could be used to make memories with their loved ones.”
Jamie Thunder, Senior Policy Manager for Financial Security at Marie Curie, said: “We welcome the fact that Newark and Sherwood District Council is actively considering taking on our advice to scrap council tax for people at the end of their lives, who need more help with their finances, more than ever.
“As the leading end of life charity, Marie Curie has worked tirelessly over the past months to provide guidance for local authorities on how they can help ease the financial strain on households dealing with terminal illness, and we urge more councils to follow the example of Manchester and Barnsley, and make the firm commitment to provide that support across the country.
“Dying people shouldn’t have to worry about whether they can afford to turn on their heating or can make rent. Scrapping council tax for people facing the end of their lives will help them live out their last weeks and months focussing on what matters most – precious time with their loved ones.”