Exceptional Hardship Policy

Main features

The main features of the Exceptional Hardship Fund are as follows: 

  1. it cannot be claimed for anything other than Council Tax and only for Council Tax debt from 01 April 2026;
  2. the award is at the discretion of the Authority;
  3. the Fund is operated by the Revenues and Benefits Team on behalf of the authority;
  4. there is no statutory right to help through the Exceptional Hardship Fund, although the Authority will consider all fully completed applications received; a fully completed form is considered as one that is completed correctly with all requested evidence provided;
  5. each case will be treated on its own merits, and all applicants will be treated fairly and equally in terms of access to the Exceptional Hardship Fund and also the decision made;
  6. where a claim for exceptional hardship is requested for a previous period to the application date, i.e. a backdated claim, exceptional hardship must have been proven to have existed throughout the whole of the period requested and will only be backdated to the 1 April 2026;
  7. an exceptional hardship award will not be considered where the liability has been caused by the failure of the applicant to notify changes in circumstances in a timely manner or where the applicant has failed to act correctly or honestly.
  8. awards will only be paid on a short-term basis to help the applicant meet their Council Tax liability, whilst they adjust their financial circumstances, or whilst the applicant seeks or engages with alternative solutions;
  9. the Authority may make a referral to other departments or organisations where it is believed the service offered by that service/organisation will help the claimants situation. For example, this help could be with budgeting, income maximisation or employment support. If a claimant refuses this help or does not engage,  this will be considered a lifestyle choice not to improve their situation. All applicants will be expected to take any reasonable steps expected by the authority to improve their situation, to reduce ongoing exceptional hardship.
  10. the fund is to help those applicants who are trying to help themselves financially; and
  11. encourage and support people to obtain an improved financial resilience including taking and sustaining employment if that is appropriate for the individual.