Benefits (council tax and housing)

If you are having trouble paying your council tax or rent, you may be able to apply to our benefits team for help. For information and to apply see:

A number of changes to the current Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Council Tax schemes come in to effect from 1 April 2013, for more information see:

Benefit changes

Discretionary Housing Payments

In some circumstances the council may be able to award people suffering exceptional hardship an additional payment to help with additional housing costs. These are known as Discretionary Housing Payments. These are not payments of housing benefits; they are awarded on a case-by-case basis for help with housing costs.

To apply complete and return:

Application for Discretionary Housing Payments

Leisure centre discount

If you are entitled to benefits you may be eligible for a discount at your local leisure centre. You can visit the Nexus Community website for more information.

Fair processing statement

We may pass any information you provide us to other agencies or organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions or Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, as allowed by law.

We may check information you have provided, or information about you that someone else has provided, with other information held by us.

We may also get information about you from certain third parties, or give them information to :

Prevent or detect crime;
Protect public funds; and
Make sure the information is correct.

These third parties include government departments, local authorities and private-sector companies such as banks, organisations that may lend you money and companies that assist us in fraud detection and prevention such as Experian.

We will not give information about you to anyone else, or use information about you for other purposes, unless the law allows us to.