Council Tax scrapped for terminally ill residents in compassionate new end-of-life move
Terminally ill residents across the Wakefield district are to be spared from paying council tax under plans set to be introduced later this year.
In September 2025, councillors voted unanimously in favour of offering financial support to residents who had been diagnosed as having less than a year to live.
Wakefield Council’s cabinet members look set to agree to implement the decision from the start of the next financial year, on April 1.
Senior councillors have been asked to approve a recommendation that the exemption is applied to any person, or any member of their household, who has received confirmation that they have a life expectancy of under 12 months.
The document said: “It is recommended that this discount is not means tested and that no consideration is given to the income of anyone in the household.
It added: “Following the death of the terminally ill resident, and where an existing household member remains liable, or becomes liable for council tax, it is recommended that a further short period of the terminally ill discount be allowed, starting from the date of death.”
According to data, around 340 residents in the district potentially qualify for the discount at any given time.
The maximum annual cost of awarding a full 100 per cent discount to all qualifying residents was estimated to be £709,000.
Councillors of all parties last year backed a motion calling for the discount to be introduced.
The move came after end-of-life charity Marie Curie called for councils across England to offer more financial help to terminally ill residents and their loved ones.
Labour councillor David Pickersgill, who proposed the motion, said at the time: “Suspending council tax for terminally ill people means they will face one less financial burden during an already unimaginably difficult time.”
Seconding the motion at a full council meeting, Normanton councillor Daniel Wilton said: “Terminally ill people face unimaginable physical, emotional and financial burdens – council tax should not be one of them.
“This motion is not about charity.
“It is about dignity for those at the end of life.
“It is about recognising that those in their final months should not be worrying about bills, but spending precious time with their loved ones.
Nadeem Ahmed, leader of the Conservative and Independent opposition group, said “It’s the right thing to do.”
In June 2025, Manchester City Council became the first in England to offer full exemption for people with a terminal illness after working closely with Marie Curie.
More than 300 people die in poverty every day in the UK, according to the charity’s Dying in Poverty 2024 report.
Other local authorities, including Burnley Council and Bristol City Council, also committed to introduce a terminally ill discount