More than 270,000 of the poorest households in England face council tax hikes of £80 a year as the government’s safety net is withdrawn, a survey of local authorities has revealed.
Using freedom of information requests, research for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found that from April another 48 local authorities are reducing protection for vulnerable residents.
Ministers cut funding for the means-tested benefit by £500m, around 10% of the total, last April and instructed local authorities to decide how the reduced benefit should be distributed.