Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will consider the potential merits of increasing access to council tax exemptions for foster carers to enable them to continue their care responsibilities.

Local authorities are responsible for the administration of council tax and have discretionary powers to apply exemptions or council tax discounts. This could include offering discounts to foster carers where they consider this appropriate.

The government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax. This included seeking views on the current range of council tax disregards provided in the system. The government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.