MORE councils in England should exempt terminally ill people from paying council tax, charity Marie Curie urged today.

The charity has already secured commitments from 16 councils to drop the tax for people at the end of their lives and hopes more will follow.

Manchester City Council introduced the relief over the summer, followed by Barnsley last month.

Councils in Bristol, Salford and Preston have also pledged to bring in similar schemes soon.

Marie Curie said 11 more councils have passed supportive motions to explore introducing dedicated relief policies, including Newcastle, Wakefield, Wirral, Pendle, Newark and Sherwood, South Gloucestershire, Milton Keynes, Blackburn with Darwen, Liverpool, Burnley and Sheffield.

It urged those councils to act quickly and called on others to follow their lead.

An estimated 111,000 people die in poverty every year in Britain, with terminal illness often causing lost income and higher energy costs, the charity added.

Jamie Thunder of Marie Curie said: “With a significant proportion of terminally ill people relying on benefits as their main source of income, council tax relief can be a huge support for families facing financial hardship.

“[Manchester City Council and Barnsley City Council] have set a powerful precedent for compassionate local governance, showing that practical policy change is possible.

“We urge all councils across the country to follow suit and encourage those who have passed supportive motions to act swiftly on their commitments to make real change.

“No-one should spend their final months worrying about bills.”

Barnsley councillor Robert Frost said: “We hope that awarding the 100 per cent council tax reduction will help to remove some pressure from households during these extremely difficult times.

“As a council, we feel this is the right thing to do.”

The Local Government Association (LGA) was contacted for comment.