Council tax

Jaycee23

Registered User
Jan 6, 2011
383
0
uk
my mother in law is receiving single occupancy discount on her council tax and in receipt of attendance allowance. Her doctor said at the beginning of the year she has dementia and he wanted her in a home. She did not want to go therefore she has three carers a day plus the nurse, a cleaner and gardener. She pays for this and I was told she would be exempt from council tax and therefore applied. As the doctor did not sign the required form for the council she has to pay. If her doctor says she has dementia and needs care shouldn’t she not have to pay council tax
 

malcolmc

Registered User
Mar 11, 2017
44
0
Colchester
About 6 weeks ago I applied to the the local council for exemption from council tax on behalf of my mum, due to her "severe mental impairment". Her GP signed the necessary form to state she was formally diagnosed with vascular dementia in Oct 2015. Last week I got a letter from the council accepting the claim and, to my surprise, the council have refunded her payments from the date of her diagnosis as well as exempting her from future payments. As mum currently has a need for live-in care for 2 weeks, after returning from a spell in hospital, it could not have come at a better time to help pay those extra costs.

Did your MIL's GP refuse to sign the council form? I had no difficulty with my mother's GP in doing so.
 

nitram

Registered User
Apr 6, 2011
30,081
0
Bury
The AA is a qualifying benefit.
For the SMI disregard a GP has to sign that the applicant has a
“severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning (however caused) which appears to be permanent”.
A refund should be paid to the point at which the entitlement to a qualifying benefit and the date of SMI certification (which can be backdated on the certificate) co-exist.
Note SMI is not as terrifying as it sounds e.g. inability to follow a rapidly moving conversation is an impairment of social functioning.

I feel the doctor's stance on dementia and SMI is irreconcilable.
 
Last edited:

Kevinl

Registered User
Aug 24, 2013
6,064
0
Salford
The doctor has to sign a form (as nitram says) diagnosing a "Severe Mental Impairment".
AA can be awarded for may issues one of which is an SMI but she may be getting her AA for other reasons or a combination of reasons and anyway you can get the CT disregard without getting AA (contrary to what a lot of people on here say.
So if the doctor doesn't want to say it's an SMI and the recommendation of a care home was based on her overall condition/s not her dementia in isolation.
Can someone with an SMI live at home, alone, for even part of the day? That depends on your definition of when it actually severe not just mild or moderate. I would say severe would be someone who requires constant supervision or at least someone there all the time, but that's just my opinion.
Did the doctor not tell you why they won't sign the form?
K
 

Jaycee23

Registered User
Jan 6, 2011
383
0
uk
Thankyou for your replies. I don’t know why the doctor refused to sign the CT letter. It would be useful for the extra money to enable her to have more care so we may not give up and apply again.