Woking Council Tax Support Scheme to Be Replaced by 2027

About 3,400 Woking households get help with their council tax bill under a scheme the borough wrote itself. That scheme is being replaced. The shadow authority building West Surrey Council has agreed in principle to run a single council tax support scheme across all six boroughs from 1 April 2027, and a draft goes back to its executive for consultation on 1 October.

The decision was taken on 21 July 2026 and published two days later (decision record). Woking Borough Council has not reported it in its own newsroom.

What the numbers are

The officers’ report puts the current West Surrey caseload at 20,900 households. Woking’s share is 1,300 pensioners, who are protected by national rules, and 2,100 other claimants (Council Tax Support harmonisation report, Appendix A). The report rounds every figure to the nearest hundred.

All six schemes are described in the report as less generous than the national default. Three of the six, including Woking, run a variation of the default scheme. The other three use income bands. Maximum awards are 100 per cent in four areas, 95 per cent in one and 90 per cent in one. Savings limits range from £6,000 to £16,000 depending on the borough.

Harmonising those six into one is expected to cost money rather than raise it. The report’s early modelling puts the reduction in council tax income at up to about £2.5 million a year, depending on the scheme chosen. A further £120,000 has been earmarked for the modelling and implementation work itself, £20,000 for each of the six boroughs.

The premiums are already settled

The same meeting dealt with the extra charges on empty homes and second homes, and went further. Councillors resolved that long-term empty property premiums be applied at the maximum levels the law allows (decision record):

• 100 per cent extra for homes empty one to five years
• 200 per cent extra for homes empty five to ten years
• 300 per cent extra for homes empty more than ten years

Woking already charges all three at those levels, and already applies the 100 per cent second homes premium (Woking Borough Council). So for Woking owners this part of the decision changes nothing.

It changes plenty elsewhere. The report records 1,622 empty-home premiums in force across the six boroughs in October 2025, and 1,453 second homes, of which only 508 were being charged the premium (Council Tax Premiums report).

Woking has the second-highest number of empty-home premiums of the six, behind Surrey Heath.

The report as published said Runnymede’s second homes premium could not start before April 2028. A note of clarification issued after the meeting corrects that: both Runnymede and Spelthorne gave notice in February 2026 and will introduce the premium from April 2027 (note of clarification).

Why any of this is happening

Woking Borough Council and Surrey County Council both cease to exist on 1 April 2027. They are replaced by West Surrey Council, covering Guildford, Runnymede, Spelthorne, Surrey Heath, Waverley and Woking (Surrey LGR Hub). One council cannot run six different council tax support schemes and six different premium policies for long.

The support scheme has a legal deadline attached. The regulations expect the shadow authority to make reasonable efforts to have a scheme ready before 1 April 2027, and if that is not possible the schemes must be harmonised by 31 March 2029.

The dates that matter

Taken from the shadow executive’s own forward plan, published on 28 August (forward plan):

A third decision on the same day covered discretionary reliefs, the hardship and charity relief powers under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and section 47 of the 1988 Act. Those are also to be harmonised from vesting day, and reviewed within twelve months and at least every three years afterwards (decision record).

What it means for you

If you claim council tax support in Woking, nothing changes on your bill yet. Your award for 2026/27 stands. The scheme that decides your 2027/28 award has not been written, and the modelling that shapes it is due on 15 September. If you are a pensioner, national rules protect the level of your support whatever the new council decides.

The point to watch is the consultation. A formal consultation on the premiums policy is promised, and the support scheme draft goes out for consultation after 1 October. Nothing has been published yet on how or where to respond, and no Woking-specific figures on winners and losers have been released.

If you own a long-term empty property or a second home in the borough, the decision confirms that the current Woking charges will carry over rather than be softened. Our guide to the borough’s bands and charges is at Woking council tax bands.

Representations about any shadow executive item proposed to be heard in private can be sent to WSSAExecutive@woking.gov.uk, and must arrive at least eight working days before the meeting to be published with the agenda.