Call to exempt terminally ill from council tax

Calls have been made for residents living with a terminal illness in North Yorkshire to be exempt from paying council tax.

A motion asked for the authority to set out a plan to change its policies to "explicitly include a commitment to support people who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness within its 2027/28 budget proposal".

The motion, proposed by Lib Dem councillor Chris Aldred, stated: "It's not just a thoughtful act - it could be the difference between security and poverty at the end of life, when comfort and dignity should be non-negotiable."

The proposal was due to heard at a council meeting on Wednesday.

However, the chair said any potential changes would first be debated by the authority's scrutiny committee.

According to the motion, the proposal would result in only a small reduction in council tax income for the authority because eligibility would be restricted to a small group of residents with a clinician-certified progressive illness.

The move followed a campaign by end-of-life care charity Marie Curie, calling for councils across England to offer more financial support to those with terminal illnesses.

The charity's 2025 report found that more than 100,000 people died in poverty each year in the UK.

Similar schemes have already been introduced by 16 councils elsewhere in England, according to the motion.

Lib Dem councillor Andrew Murday, who seconded the motion, said he had seen first hand the financial worry faced by people.

"I worked in a hospice so I know what it's like for people and their - individuals and their families facing terminal illness and the last thing they need is an extra financial burden."

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