www.cornwall.gov.uk

Exceptional Relief and Transitional Support FundFrom 1 April 2013 if you receive council tax support and are having exceptional difficulty paying your council tax you can apply for help from the Exceptional Relief and Transitional Support Fund

An Exceptional Relief and Transitional Support payment may be made to you if you cannot afford to pay your council tax. The fund is only available to help pay outstanding council tax.

To be eligible to apply for a payment from the fund: • you must be working age and• receive Council Tax Support

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support

How to applyTo apply for support from the fund to pay your council tax bill you will need to complete an application form.

The form is available:• to download from our website

www.cornwall.gov.uk/benefits• from our Benefit Contact Centre

by phone: 0300 1234 121 or email: benefits@cornwall.gov.uk

• from any of our One Stop Shops

If you have difficulty completing the form you can check our website for more help and advice. You can also ring us on 0300 1234 121 and we will help you.

What you will need to tell usYou will be assessed on your ability to pay your council tax and we will look at your personal circumstances to help us decide if an award can be made.

You will need to tell us:• about your income (and your

partner’s if you have one)• about any savings you have (and

your partner’s if you have one) • the money you pay out (and your

partner if you have one) • about your health and any medical

circumstances or disabilities that you have

• why you need extra help with your council tax

Where to send your completed formPlease send your completed application form back to us at:Cornwall Council, Revenues and Benefits PO Box 676, Threemilestone, Truro TR4 9LDWe will consider your application and write to you to let you know about our decision. Our letter will tell you about the reason for our decision and what to do if you are not happy with it.

If your application is successfulPayment will be made directly to your council tax account to reduce the amount you have to pay.

Payments from the fund will be available for 2014/15 only.

Payments are not statutory but we will consider all applications we receive fairly and equally; we will pay particular attention to vulnerable people when considering applications.

We will expect you to work with us to find long term solutions to your financial situation.

As part of the award, we may ask you to work with us or other partner organisations to find ways to improve your longer term financial and personal circumstances.

Printed on recycled paper. JN35980 April 2014