PENSIONERS’ council tax bills look set to increase.

Kirklees Council has offered a discount to over-65s since 2007.

But the council could scrap the rebate next week as Kirklees struggles to cope with the public spending squeeze.

Council tax is likely to be kept at 2010-11 levels for the year starting in April.

If the rebate is scrapped it would mean pensioner households would have to pay 3% more council tax from this April while everyone else got a freeze.

Kirklees officers have drawn up a plan to scrap the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS), which cost £750,000 this year.

A report to the Labour Cabinet said the move was necessary as Kirklees tries to find £80m of savings in the next three years.

“The council would be justified in removing the scheme on financial grounds,” the report says.

“It could no longer afford to pay for the scheme without adversely affecting other services being provided.”

Some 21,887 homes in Kirklees benefited from the CTRS this year, including 8,246 single-person households.

The scheme was brought in by the Conservatives in 2007, two years before they were ousted from power by Labour and the Lib Dems.

Tory leader Clr Robert Light said yesterday he regretted the end of the CTRS.

“This is very sad as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

“The pensioner discount was one of the flagship Conservative policies which we introduced.

“It wasn’t a huge amount, but it showed our commitment to the older generation at a time when the Labour government was giving a 79p increase in pensions.”

Asked if he would push for the CTRS to be brought back in the future, Clr Light replied: “One of my priorities is to keep council tax down for everyone. I think we’re entering a period of low council tax increases rather than the high level we’ve seen in the past.”

Kirklees leader Clr Mehboob Khan defended the planned scrapping of the CTRS yesterday.

The Greenhead Labour man said: “The scheme is something we have managed to keep in place until now despite all the pressures on council finances, but we are facing a time of unprecedented challenge on our government grant.

“We have looked at this across party lines along with every other aspect of our spending.

“The scheme was introduced four years ago when the difference between the increase in state retirement pension and the increase in council tax was disproportionate.

“Over time, that has changed so we are being recommended to take the very difficult decision to stop the Council Tax Reduction Scheme from April 2011.

“It is paid to people who do not qualify for council tax benefit, as part of the process I will make sure we offer all recipients the opportunity to claim council tax benefit.

“Those aged 65 or over who currently receive council tax benefit will remain unaffected even if this change is agreed.

“The single person discount is also unaffected by these proposed changes.”

The council’s Cabinet will decide whether to scrap the CTRS at its weekly meeting at 6pm on Wednesday.