Under Universal Credit (UC), income is assessed on a monthly basis, using real-time information from HMRC. This differs from legacy benefits, where income is typically averaged over a longer and more stable period. As a result, households receiving UC can experience more frequent recorded income fluctuations. Because changes in a person’s income trigger a reassessment of UC, and therefore a reassessment of their entitlement to CTRS, the move to UC has led to an increase in the frequency of reassessments for working-age households.
The Welsh Government proposed to introduce, through regulations, a tolerance rule for small changes in UC awards. Under this proposal:-
Small changes to UC payments (within the tolerance level of £65) would not trigger a CTRS reassessment.
CTRS awards would remain unchanged unless or until UC changes by more than the tolerance.
No revised council tax bills would be issued to households;
There would be no change to the council tax amount payable.
The consultation can be found at https://www.gov.wales/council-tax-reduction-scheme-wales-technical-consultation-reassessment-thresholds-html#207525.
Closing date for responses was 23 September 2026.
The IRRV's response can be found at https://www.irrv.net/documents/weblinks/2026/9/IRRV_Response_CTR_Scheme_consultation_reassessment_thresholds.pdf.
This consultation, "Every House Matters: a new approach to tackling social housing tenancy fraud and misuse", aims to inform the development of an overarching strategic framework and to consider whether existing legislation should be strengthened to better prevent, detect and address fraud. The overall aim is to get better at identifying tenancy fraud, improve how cases are investigated and help prevent fraud from taking place.
The consultation can be found at https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/consultations/consultation-proposed-new-approach
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The Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) is the professional body for local taxation, benefits and valuation. We promote best practice and support the professional activities of our members working in government and commerce.
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