At Full Council in December I secured an agreement that officers would go away and look at transitional protection for the severely disabled people this petition is concerned about. (This follows several previous interventions at Exec and corporate and resources scrutiny urging them to think again). There will be consultation later this year on what the CTRS should look like from 2027-28 on but that doesn’t help disabled people with huge council tax bills in the here and now. There are a range of options to sort this out and provide relief NOW. The Exceptional Hardship scheme is not up to the task and  new policy/additional measures are required. I am not terribly confident that officers will play ball – I rather anticipate they will simply go ‘looked at it, decided what we already have in place is sufficient/we can’t do anything else’. 

So it’s lucky that….

There is going to be a Judicial Review of Somerset Council challenging its discriminatory and irrational treatment of severely disabled people who’ve been moved to UC/LCWRA.

On 9 January this year (2026) the High Court granted a disabled Somerset resident, Andy Mitchell, permission to proceed with a judicial review challenging the lawfulness of Somerset Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS). This is great news for the campaign! This a legal aid case – the solicitors are Leigh Day and Co and they have instructed barristers  from Garden Court Chambers.

Andy like thousands of other disabled people of working age is unable to work because of multiple physical and mental health conditions and relies on means-tested benefits (previously ESA and now Universal Credit with the LCWRA). Until recently, like thousands of other disabled people, he was entitled to a 100 % reduction. Following forced migration to UC/LCWRA he has been asked to pay 90 per cent of his council tax – with a bill of over £1,100!

His lawyers will argue:

Discrimination: the scheme unlawfully discriminates against disabled people because it treats the disability related elements of Universal Credit as if they were ‘spare income’. This means people whose benefits are increased to reflect disability related needs are assessed as less in need of support and are required to pay more council tax than non-disabled people with comparable financial circumstances. It also treats people with identical needs and incomes differently based on whether they are receiving legacy benefits or Universal Credit.

In breach of the public sector duty: it will be argued that Somerset Council failed to properly consider the impact of its scheme on disabled people and other protected groups when designing and operating the scheme and when making the decision in the claimant’s case.

Irrationality: it will be argued that it is arbitrary and therefore irrational to disregard all the income of someone on legacy means-tested benefits yet to take into account the equivalent disability-related elements of Universal Credit. In the context of a system which requires consideration of financial needs, it is irrational for a person’s entitlement to change radically when their financial needs have not changed.

I think this is a really strong case and I hope it won’t take too long to get to the hearing. One of the barristers represented two Trafford residents in another recent case where the court ruled the council’s CTRS was unlawful. 

A lot is riding on this – let’s hope either the Council sees sense and concedes or the judge finds for Andy on all grounds. If the scheme is found to be discriminatory then the discriminatory parts will be quashed,  policy will have to be changed forthwith and those currently suffering these awful bills will have them withdrawn and  be able to breathe easier. Justice must be done!

Meanwhile please keep sharing the petition and tell the world and his mother about this. Please lobby your Somerset councillors!!!! Best Caro x