Hi,

Whilst I know that this is not strictly regarding benefits, I hope someone may be able to answer my question as the person I spoke to at our local Council Tax department did not know the answer and I cannot find anything on the net.

I have a client who has two adult children. The eldest (19 years) has been at university since September 2007. The younger one (18 years) completed his A-Levels in June 2008 and went on to university mid September 2008.

The Council Tax department applied the single person's discount from when the younger child started uni, but not previously.

Whilst I know that the discount should have been applied when her son was doing his A-Levels, would it still have been applicable during his summer holidays prior to starting uni?

Kind regards,

Alice

Young people still "qualify" as dependent children for a period after they finish FT education. If the younger son finished his A levels in June 08, he should for benefits purposes have counted as a dependent child until 31st August 2008. As such, she should have qualified for the single occupancy discount for this period.

I would think the best way to approach it with the LA would be to find out if your client was still getting CB for her son (which she should have) up til that date and then provide them with the proof that she was.

The period between the 31/08/08 and his actually uni start date would be a different matter.

Hi,

Thank you so much for your reply. I will pass this on to my client and hopefully things will get resolved!

What a brilliant forum!