Important Changes
Council Tax Benefit will cease from 31 March 2013 and will be
replaced by Council Tax Support.
Northumberland County Council has adopted
The
Council Tax Reductions Schemes (Default Scheme) (England)
Regulations 2012 for the period 1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014
which will be based closely on the means-test Council Tax Benefit
currently delivered.
Council Tax Support for pensioners (persons
who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) will
be calculated in the same way as the current Council Tax Benefit
scheme.
Although Government funding will be reduced by
10%, none of these cuts will be passed onto benefit claimants.
If you currently receive Council Tax Benefit,
this will automatically cease from 31 March 2013. Council Tax
Support will automatically be applied to your account from 1 April
2013. You will receive a decision notice explaining what
support you will receive towards your 2013/2014 Council Tax
bill.
For a more accurate idea on how much Housing Benefit or Council
Tax Support you may be entitled to please telephone 0845 600 6400
to speak to one of our advisors or alternatively call into one of
our Information Centres.
New Claim
If you wish to claim Housing Benefit, Council
Tax Support or require further information please click here.
Housing Benefit & Council Tax Support Calculator
You may wish to use our online benefit
calculator which can give you an instant estimate of what you could
claim based on the information you supply. For further
details on how to use our online calculator please click here.
Local Housing Allowance
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) is designed to
be a fairer and simpler way of working out how much help with your
rent we can give you. For further details please click
here.
Backdated Claims
If there has been a reason which prevented you
from applying for Housing Benefit at an earlier date you can ask
for your claim to be ‘backdated’ so that it starts from an earlier
date. For further information please click here.
Discretionary Housing Payments
Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP’s) are for
people receiving Housing Benefit who require further financial
assistance with their housing costs. For further details
please click here.
Appeals & Re-considerations
For further information on how to appeal
against a housing benefit decision, or request a revision, please
click here.
Overpayments
An overpayment is an amount of Benefit that
has been paid, but for which there was no entitlement under the
Benefit Regulations. For further information please click here.
Change of Circumstances
If you currently receive Housing Benefit
and/or Council Tax Support and you or any member of your household
has a change in circumstances, you must let us know as soon as
possible. For further details please click
here.
Guide to financial support for disabled people
The calculation of Housing Benefit is dependant on a number of
factors.
For a more accurate idea on how much Housing Benefit you may be
entitled to please telephone 0845 600 6400 to speak to one of our
advisors or alternatively call into one of our Information
Centres.
For a general overview of other disability-related financial
support information from Gov.uk,
please click
here.
Visiting Officer Service
If you find it difficult to access our
Information Centres we have Visiting Officers that may be able to
visit you to help you complete any Benefit forms or offer advice.
Please contact 0845 600 6400 to ask for
further details.
Language Service
If you would like any document in a different
format or if you need any help with language or translations,
please telephone 0845 600 6400 and we will do all
we can to help.
You may also wish to use the facilities
available on all of our web pages including page translation,
display and text size options. Please see the links at the
top of each web page.
Private Interview Facilities
If you require a private interview with a
benefit assessor, please contact 0845 600 6400
where an appointment can be made in your local office
Benefit Fraud
If you would like more information on how to prevent benefit
fraud, or would like to report a suspected benefit fraud, please click here.
Debt Help and Advice
For further information and advice, click here
Contact Details
For further information or specific help with
information on this page, please contact us:
Benefits Section
Northumberland County Council
Wansbeck Square
Ashington
Northumberland
NE63 9XL
Tel: 0845 600 6400
Fax No: 01670 620098
Email: benefits@northumberland.gov.uk
FAQ's
Please click on the links below to view our FAQ leaflets.
Appeals
Backdating
Discretionary
Housing Payments
Landlords and
Agents
Local Housing
Allowance
Overpayments
Students
