COUNCILLORS in Torridge have agreed in principle that care leavers should be exempt from paying council tax in the district up to the age of 25, whilst they consider a policy for the future.

The move will cost the council, which has a “corporate parenting” responsibility with partner agencies for young people when they come out of care, more than £8,000 for the 2023/24 financial year.

The money will support the 12 young people in the district who are leaving the care system at the age of 18 and making their own way in the world without the support of family.

Devon Council County has approached district councils asking them to put a system in place and a county wide policy will be discussed in due course.

Torridge’s monitoring officer Staci Dorey told members at their full council meeting this week that care leavers were a particularly vulnerable group for council tax debt.

“Moving to independent accommodation and managing their finances for the first time is challenging, as care leavers do so without the family support or the wider network that most young people can rely on,” she said.

“The Devon billing authorities and Devon County Council have been working together to agree a common council tax discount scheme for care leavers with the same qualifying criteria and level of discount across Devon. 

Any discount awarded using this discretionary power must be funded by the billing authority.

“By taking a uniform approach, the council would be supporting all Devon care leavers by implementing a scheme which did not stigmatise them and provided a simple process which all care leavers could access.”

The cost to the council in the future will depend on the number of care leavers each year.

Cllr Chris Leather (Ind, Northam) said he supported the exemption in principle but there were some questions around it.

“You imagine in our district the amount of 18, 19 or 20 year-olds who leave home. 

“There is an assumption they get help but they don’t.

“We have two different things here where one person doesn’t pay anything till they are 25 and another one has to pay full council tax. 

“He or she may live in a flat on their own and get the 25 per cent (single occupancy rate) but has to pay the rest.

“I support it in principle but in the back of my mind the County Council is pushing us to pick up some of this cost. 

“It’s £8,000 for the 12 right now but it could be a lot more in the future.”