More than half of low earners will start making minimum contributions to council tax, as a revised reduction scheme comes into force.

Councils must review their council tax reduction scheme every year and from 2016/17, every resident in Wandsworth will pay at least 30 per cent of their council tax.

December 24: Wandsworth Council "confident" despite need to cut £40m from budgets

November 20: Wandsworth council director paid £350k in "golden handshake" for taking redundancy

October 28: Wandsworth's lowest earners face average £200 council tax bill​

Households that still qualify for reduced levels of tax include those receiving council tax reduction disability premium, disabled child premium and carers’ premium.

Those in the employment support allowance group, the disabled council tax band, war pensioners and households with children under three-years-old also still qualify.

That means 49.5 per cent of working-age households that currently have some form of council tax reduction will still have it.

Those who will now pay include vulnerable families with children under the age of five.

Council leader Ravi Govindia said: "The object of the changes in the council tax support scheme is not to reduce council tax but to ensure that the cost of council tax support is redistributed.

"In 2016/17, the cost of the council tax support scheme to the public purse in Wandsworth will still be in excess of £7.5m, with significant protection being given to a wide range of vulnerable residents."

Cllr Govindia said it was "not unreasonable" to look at all areas of cost, including the scheme, to make savings.

Labour councillors called on the council to extend the exemptions to households will children under five instead of under three.