Residents are asked on the best way to make benefits in the borough fairer.

Hertsmere Borough Council are looking to change the level of help some residents get towards paying their council tax bill.

The aim is to make the policy in the area more in line with the national policy implemented by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The changes include limiting the support for backdated council tax payments from six months to one month and cutting the time people can be out of the country and still claim support.

They also propose to remove the family premium, which is a sum set by the Government for households with at least one child to live on, and this is used in benefit calculation to compare income.

A public consultation is being held until November 19 and any changes that may be made will come in to affect from April 1 next year.

People are being asked to fill out a survey to give their thoughts on the proposed changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme.

Although the Government introduces changes to how housing benefits are calculated over the last few years, it has left local authorities to decide if they would like to take the same steps with council tax support schemes.

The survey takes up to 10 minutes to complete and is available online at www.hertsmere.gov.uk/ctsssurvey or paper copies can be collected at the Civic Offices, to be returned to the benefits team in the same building.