Of 3,093 Reigate & Banstead households on Council Tax Reduction, 110 would get less under East Surrey's draft scheme and 89 more. Have your say by 3 December.

Most Reigate & Banstead households who get help with their council tax would see no change under the draft scheme for the new East Surrey Council. A consultation on it opened on Wednesday and runs until 3 December.

The council’s own modelling covers the 3,093 working-age households in the borough who currently receive Council Tax Reduction (CTR). Of those:

  • 2,894 (93.6%) would get the same amount
  • 110 (3.6%) would get less
  • 89 (2.9%) would get more

The figures are in the consultation’s frequently asked questions, published by the Surrey LGR Hub. They are the core model, before any transitional protection.

Why the scheme is changing

Surrey County Council and the 11 district and borough councils will be replaced by two unitary councils on 1 April 2027, the borough council said on 7 October. Reigate & Banstead will be part of East Surrey Council.

Each borough runs its own CTR scheme at present. East Surrey must replace five of them with one: Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge.

The consultation covers working-age claimants only. People over State Pension age are on a national scheme, which is not changing.

What the draft scheme proposes

The FAQ document lists the main features:

  • support of up to 100% of eligible council tax
  • no cap by council tax band, so homes in Bands E to H are assessed on their actual bill
  • a savings limit of £16,000, above which a household gets nothing
  • a means test that cuts support by 20p for every £1 of income above the household’s assessed needs
  • a flat deduction of £10 a week for each other adult in the home, such as a grown-up son or daughter
  • no award at all where the calculated amount is under £5 a week
  • a minimum income floor for self-employed claimants after a 12-month start-up period
  • no change to CTR when Universal Credit income moves by less than £100
  • backdating of up to three months
  • temporary protection for some existing claimants facing a big drop

The savings limit is one change Reigate & Banstead claimants will notice. The borough’s current scheme, as amended from April 2025, shuts out working-age claimants with capital over £10,000. The draft would raise that to £16,000. The borough already uses a 20% taper.

Who would lose out across East Surrey

Across all five areas, 11,786 working-age households get CTR. The model says 1,689 (14.3%) would get less and 2,020 (17.1%) more.

Some groups are named in the FAQs:

  • 2,343 households have at least one other adult living with them, and would lose £10 a week for each
  • 257 households get under £5 a week now, and would get nothing
  • 1,387 households are in Bands E to H, about 11.8% of the caseload; with no band cap, their support would not be limited by band

The FAQs do not split these three groups by borough.

The biggest changes are in Epsom and Ewell, where 43.1% of claimants would get less. That borough uses fixed bands of 80%, 65%, 50% or 40% rather than a taper, so the switch moves people both ways.

Bar chart of the share of current working-age Council Tax Reduction claimants who would get less under the East Surrey draft scheme: Epsom and Ewell 43.1%, Elmbridge 13.2%, Mole Valley 11.2%, Tandridge 8.9%, Reigate and Banstead 3.6%.
Reigate & Banstead has the smallest share of claimants who would lose out. Chart by Reigate News
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The five current schemes cost about £19.2 million a year. The draft is modelled at about £18.8 million, around £394,000 less. The FAQs say that is not a guaranteed saving, because it means more council tax billed to low-income households, and not all of it will be paid.

What the councillor said

East Surrey shadow Cllr Andy Burton, portfolio holder for finance and resources, said in the council’s release: “Council Tax Reduction is an important source of financial support for eligible residents, and I would strongly encourage anyone affected to take part in the consultation.”

He added that no final decisions have been made and that existing support stays in place while the consultation runs.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes yet. Current awards carry on under Reigate & Banstead’s rules until any new scheme starts. The proposed start date is 1 April 2027.
  • Respond by Thursday 3 December 2026. The East Surrey consultation page links to the online questionnaire.
  • Paper copies are at the Town Hall in Reigate and at community centres. Help by phone, post and in accessible formats is also offered, or email ctrseastsurrey@surreylgrhub.gov.uk.
  • A text or email about it is genuine. The councils are contacting residents through GOV.UK Notify, the government’s messaging service.
  • Your answers will not affect your claim. The FAQs say responses cannot be used to identify you or decide your award.
  • The final scheme goes to East Surrey’s Full Council in January 2027.

If you are on a low income and not claiming, our council tax bands page lists the discounts and reductions available now.

Sources