This petition has been reviewed and the following response has been offered:
Response to Petition calling for Care Leavers to be exempt from Council Tax
The issue of whether Cambridgeshire should work with the district councils in order to find a way for care leavers to be exempted from Council Tax has been thoroughly explored. The Council has taken the view that exempting care leavers from Council Tax in the absence of any national system is complex and opens the authority or district councils to the potential of claims of unfairness.
Many of Cambridgeshire’s care leavers do not live within the County. This means that even if Cambridgeshire district councils exempted Cambridgeshire care leavers from paying Council Tax, other young people living elsewhere would not benefit, simply as a result of where they happen to be living.
Similarly, a number of care leavers from other authorities live in Cambridgeshire. They might reasonably ask the district councils why they have to pay Council Tax when Cambridgeshire care leavers do not.
Care leavers receive a considerable amount of support up to age 25. This support includes a personal adviser who is able to provide practical support including support with budgeting. Where care leavers are in financial difficulty, we will provide appropriate support on a case by case basis.
We understand why the idea of exempting care leavers from Council Tax is an attractive one. We can provide assurance that we have considered this issue very carefully, but remain of the view that our current approach is responsive to the needs of individual care leavers, and is the only fair approach to take in the absence of any national scheme to exempt all care leavers from Council Tax.
17 March 2020