A year of impact: Waltham Forest saves £2.3 million and secures £538,000 for local schools

One of the most significant challenges I faced this past year was leading the transition from a means tested Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme to an income-banded model, to achieve £2.3 million in savings.

This change required a fundamental shift in how support was assessed and delivered. The means tested approach, while detailed, had become increasingly complex and administratively burdensome. Moving to an income banded scheme meant simplifying the process for claimants and staff, but also required careful calibration to ensure fairness and financial sustainability.

We chose Policy in Practice’s product because their modelling tools and policy writing support were instrumental in shaping our new Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme.

As we transitioned from a means tested approach to an income banded model to deliver £2.3 million in savings, we needed a solution that could provide robust data insights and help us communicate complex changes clearly to stakeholders.

Key reasons for choosing Policy in Practice included:

• Data driven modelling: Their tools allowed us to simulate the impact of different banding structures, helping us balance fairness with financial sustainability
• Policy development support: Their expertise in drafting CTS policies ensured our scheme was well structured, compliant, and aligned with our strategic goals
• Simplified Member engagement: The visual and accessible presentation of data made it easier to explain the rationale and expected outcomes to elected members, improving transparency and buy in

Overall, Policy in Practice helped us move confidently through a complex policy change, ensuring our CTS scheme was both effective and defensible.

• Structured scheme design: Their modelling helped us build a CTS scheme that was both financially sustainable and responsive to resident needs. We were able to forecast the impact of different banding options and align the scheme with our savings target of £2.3 million.
• Improved Member engagement: The clarity and accessibility of the data visualisations made it significantly easier to present the scheme to elected members, facilitating informed decision-making and securing approval.

Our most notable success story from 2025 was the successful redesign and implementation of a new income banded Council Tax Support (CTS) scheme, which delivered £2.3 million in year savings for the Council.

This achievement was the culmination of extensive policy development, stakeholder engagement, and operational transformation. The previous means tested scheme had become financially unsustainable, with projected costs rising to £20.6 million in 2025/26. By introducing a more targeted and affordable income banded model, we reduced the scheme’s cost to £18.29 million.

Policy in Practice played a pivotal role in enabling this success.

Their contribution included:

• Advanced modelling: Policy in Practice provided detailed simulations that helped us understand the financial and social impact of various scheme options. This allowed us to confidently propose a structure that balanced affordability with fairness
• Policy drafting support: Their expertise in writing CTS policy ensured our scheme was legally sound, clearly articulated, and aligned with our strategic goals
• Simplified Member engagement: The data visualisations and scenario modelling made it easier to present complex information to elected members, facilitating informed decision-making and securing political buy-in

The result was a scheme that not only met our financial targets but also maintained support for vulnerable residents.