Money saving expert Martin Lewis has issued an urgent warning to millions of unpaid carers across England and Wales, telling them not to trust the information provided by their local councils about a valuable council tax discount.
Widespread Inaccuracies on Council Websites
An investigation by Lewis's website, MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE), has revealed that at least 69 local authorities are publishing incorrect or incomplete information online about the live-in Carer Council Tax discount. The spot check of over 200 council websites found that these councils state criteria that wrongly indicate far fewer people are eligible for the reduction than actually qualify.
This means a minimum of one in five councils are displaying flawed guidance. The issue is particularly acute in London, with seven boroughs among those named. A further 80 councils failed to include any easily accessible information online about the qualifying benefits needed to claim, which MSE says is very likely to deter a significant number of the UK's up to five million unpaid carers from applying.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
The live-in Carer discount can reduce a Council Tax bill by 25% or even 50%. For many households, the 25% discount is typically worth around £500 per year, with some savings reaching £1,000 or more. To qualify, a person must provide at least 35 hours of unpaid care per week to someone in their household who is not their spouse, partner, or child under 18. The person receiving care must also be in receipt of certain disability benefits.
The investigation found that the core of the problem lies in councils failing to update their online information since rules changed in 2013. Many websites omit key benefits that have qualified for over a decade, including:
- Attendance Allowance – lower rate.
- Disability Living Allowance – care component, middle rate.
- Personal Independence Payment – daily living component, both standard and enhanced rates.
- Armed Forces Independence Payment – any amount.
This oversight affects a wide range of family situations, such as a parent caring for an adult child, an adult child looking after a parent, or siblings supporting one another.
Lewis and Charities Demand Action
Martin Lewis, founder of MSE, did not mince his words. "Unpaid carers can’t trust councils’ information about Carers’ Council Tax discounts," he stated. He urged all carers who previously thought they were ineligible after checking a council site to check again using reliable sources like Carers UK's help pages.
Lewis also advised that those who missed out due to incorrect council information should request a backdated discount to the point they first became eligible, though he noted rules on backdating vary by council. He confirmed MSE is writing to all implicated councils demanding urgent website updates and is reporting the systemic failure to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK, highlighted the severe financial pressure on carers. "Nearly half (49%) of unpaid carers have cut back on essentials in the past year," she said, emphasising that the incorrect information is "simply unacceptable" for people who are time-poor and exhausted. She described the correct discount as a potential "lifeline" for many families.
The problem is compounded because the main Gov.uk page on Council Tax does not list the qualifying benefits for the carer discount, making it even harder for people in England to independently verify their eligibility.
The list of councils found to have incorrect information includes authorities across England and Wales, such as Barnet, Bromley, and Camden in London; Brighton and Hove in the South East; Sheffield and Wakefield in Yorkshire; and Denbighshire in Wales.
