Durham County Council’s Cabinet will decide next week whether to extend the 90 per cent cap on council tax relief for working-age residents through to March 2028. The Cabinet meets at 10am on Wednesday 1 July 2026 at County Hall, with the recommendation to continue the income‑banded Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2027/28 .
If approved, the decision would lock in a maximum 90 per cent discount until April 2028 for roughly 31,200 working-age claimants. That means those on the lowest incomes would continue to face a minimum annual bill of £162, contributing an estimated £2.2 million to the authority’s coffers. Council leader Andrew Husband described the current scheme as “a very generous offer,” adding that “welfare should be a safety net, not a lifestyle choice.” Deputy leader Councillor Darren Grimes said the changes had made support “fair, efficient and effective.”
The 90 per cent cap replaced Durham’s uncapped 100 per cent relief on 1 April 2026 following a full council vote in December 2025 that passed by 58 to 26. The income‑banded system calculates entitlement against weekly earnings, giving the highest discount to those earning less than £70 a week and phasing it out completely above £275. The council ran a public consultation between July and September 2025 that drew 1,856 responses, most favouring a 75 per cent cap while about 30 per cent supported keeping full relief. Towns with the largest numbers of claimants—Peterlee, Stanley, Bishop Auckland and Ferryhill—are expected to feel the greatest impact.
The scheme costs more than £60 million annually and the authority is chasing £45 million in savings by 2028/29, part of £289 million required since 2010. Liberal Democrat Councillor Mark Wilkes opposed the earlier changes, saying, “Taxing somebody who doesn’t have money to pay it doesn’t work and it is immoral. It’s simply illogical to try and squeeze money out of somebody who doesn’t have any.” Under the old uncapped system, 84 per cent of working-age claimants paid no council tax; the latest figures show 84 per cent are now on Universal Credit, a proportion expected to reach 96 per cent this year.
Pension‑age residents are unaffected because their discounts follow separate national rules. The Cabinet report is classified as a Key Decision, reference CORP/R/2026/006, with the Leader of the Council and the Deputy Leader acting as the lead members.
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