Sturgeon vows to kill off 'discredited' Council Tax

First published by: The Guardian

Nicola Sturgeon yesterday pledged to abolish the 'discredited' Council Tax in Scotland if the SNP wins power at next year's Holyrood elections.

In a well-received speech at the party's conference in Perth, the deputy leader said a Nationalist government would introduce a local income tax based on ability to pay. 'Council Tax has increased by 60 per cent since 1997 - four times the rate of inflation. It is deeply unfair and hits hardest those who can least afford to pay it,' she said. The replacement would mean more than half a million pensioners would pay nothing and most others would pay less.

With the party confident following its success in recent polls, Sturgeon told activists that they had their best chance ever to realise their 'dream of independence'. Her closing speech contained a strong attack on First Minister Jack McConnell, the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. She added: 'What people the length and breadth of Scotland are fed up with can be summed up in just one word - Labour.'

She also made a joke at the expense of party leader Alex Salmond, referring to a recent poll which found he was rated higher in several categories than McConnell. But she said the First Minister beat Salmond in one category. 'The Scottish people think Jack McConnell is more conceited than Alex Salmond,' she said. 'And let's be frank - that takes some doing.'

Sturgeon also criticised Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen for refusing to go into a coalition with the SNP unless it ditched its commitment to an independence referendum. She also revealed plans to increase provision of free nursery education for all three- and four-year-olds, and get rid of graduate debt by reinstating grants and abolishing tuition fees.

At the Scottish Liberal Democrats' autumn conference in Dunfermline, leader Sir Menzies Campbell said the SNP had 'no coherent vision for Scotland'

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

Are you paying too much Council Tax - check here?

THE COUNCIL TAX SHOCK OF LIVING ALONE

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE GUARDIAN

LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE USING PRIVATE COMPANIES TO TRACK DOWN PEOPLE WRONGLY CLAIMING SINGLE-PERSON DISCOUNT, BUT THE INNOCENT ARE ALSO BEING CAUGHT

When Sarah Dodds received a letter from Bristol city council demanding £3,000 in unpaid Council Tax, she assumed there had been a mistake. However, things got worse when she called to find out what was going on. The council, she was told, was accusing her of fraudulently claiming the 25% Council Tax discount given to those living alone. It wanted its money, backdated to 2002, and there was apparently no appeal.

Her "crime" was allowing her estranged son to have his bank statements and other letters sent to her home. By doing so, the semi-retired civil servant has become caught up in a campaign adopted by councils across the country to reduce single-person discount fraud, which is estimated to be costing around £100m a year. 

Guardian Money has learned that a growing number of local authorities are handing over lists of residents receiving the discount to credit reference companies so they can grade each according to the potential risk of fraud. If you claim the 25% discount and allow anyone else to have a financial link with your home, which might include having bank or credit card statements sent there, you can expect a letter asking whether you are entitled to the discount, typically worth around £300 a year. 

It appears you are particularly likely to receive a letter if you have a student living with you. Full-time students on qualifying courses and student nurses are among those disregarded for Council Tax purposes.

"My son and I are virtually estranged and I do not know where he lives," Dodds says. "He sometimes stays with his father, the rest of the time he couch surfs. He turns up occasionally to pick up his mail. Apart from that, our paths rarely cross." She has told Bristol council this, but staff are adamant she must pay or tell them where her son lives. "I am unable to do this. I have tried to get a message to him but to no joy," she says.

Dodds used to work for the Department for Work and Pensions, and part of her job involved trying to catch those committing benefit fraud. She regularly had to make surprise visits to claimants' homes to establish whether other people were also living there. "I've suggested to the council that it can send someone round to check I live alone but it has declined. Anyone visiting would soon establish that my son doesn't live here. I feel the council is bullying me. Faced with this debt, of course, I would tell the council where my son lives if I could. It won't listen," she says.

The action taken by Bristol and other local authorities is prompted in part by the Audit Commission, which has highlighted that councils are losing as much as £100m a year to single-person discount fraud. Last month it said councils had detected more than £22m of false claims for student and single-person Council Tax discounts.

Bruno Rost, a spokesman for credit reference agency Experian, which conducts checks for local authorities, says this has become a significant part of the company's business. "We take the council's list of residents claiming the discount, cross-reference it against our databases and then grade each one according to the potential risk of fraud." He says Experian is looking for evidence of financial activity by people other than those who claim to be living alone – such as evidence of shared bank accounts or utility bills.

Experian promotes a "three-letter approach" to be used when a council suspects a householder is wrongly claiming the discount. A first letter makes them aware of the circumstances in which the discount can be claimed. A second asks householders whether they believe they should be receiving it, and in a third letter the council says it believes the householder may not be entitled to the discount. "Since we started working in this area in 2006-07 we have saved local authority clients around £100m. This is money that can go back into frontline services," Rost says.

In October, Rushmoor borough council, which covers Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire, warned its residents that it was tackling the issue alongside all other councils in the county. The exercise is being carried out by a company called Northgate Information Solutions. Residents who receive a letter asking for further details are required to complete a form and return it to Northgate.

"Residents should make sure they reply to the letter, otherwise their discount may end," the council warns on its website. A similar move has just been announced by the district councils of Lincolnshire. The councils say the law allows them to contract out this function. Checking entitlement to discounts is covered in section 12 of the Local Authorities (Contracting Out of Tax Billing, Collection and Enforcement Functions) Order 1996.

Peter Wood, a spokesman for Bristol city council, refused to discuss Dodds's case in detail, and declined to say what appeal options were open to Bristol residents caught up in her situation.

In a statement, he said: "To resolve situations where customers claim they are still entitled to a discount, we would request evidence of the present address of any named third party in order to support their claim. This evidence must be in the form of an official document. It is important to note that financial data held by credit agencies does not include addresses used purely for the delivery of post. The financial data relates to addresses where individuals live, or where they say they live."

He said that since the council started the review, it had removed discounts to the total value of £650,000. "Savings in excess of £1m are expected. Only a very small number have been backdated as far back as 2002," he added.

Experian's website was more forthcoming. It says if you are no longer linked to a person who is registered to your address, you should contact it and explain the situation. "If you are no longer connected, we will be able to break the link between you," it says.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX. 


ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

UK AUTHORITIES ATTACKED FOR ISSUING 1.2M COUNCIL TAX SUMMONSES

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE GUARDIAN

1.2 MILLION PEOPLE RECEIVED A COURT SUMMONS LAST YEAR FOR COUNCIL TAX

Local authorities have been criticised for using heavy-handed tactics to recover Council Tax arrears after the Liberal Democrats published figures today showing that more than 1.2 million people received a court summons last year, with nearly 600,000 visited by bailiffs after falling behind with payments. The data, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, showed councils filed for bankruptcy against 1,706 people.

The Lib Dems' local government secretary, Julia Goldsworthy, said public bodies had a duty to mitigate "the devastating effect that failing to pay Council Tax can have on families", particularly those already struggling under the burden of mortgage payments and rising bills. "Just as lenders are being asked to reduce repossessions, public bodies should do everything they can to ensure that bankruptcy is only ever a last resort," she said.

"This is not a licence to avoid paying bills, it is about ensuring that court appearances and bankruptcy are avoided where possible." The Lib Dems received responses from more than 170 local authorities. The data showed that 1.23m summons were issued in 2007/08, with 570,500 bailiff visits during the same period.

The most common method to try to recover Council Tax was an attachment of earnings order, in which a debtor's employer is asked to deduct the money from their salary and pay it directly to the council. Authorities can launch a bankruptcy petition where more than £750 is owed. The Local Government Association (LGA) confirmed the Lib Dem figures but said 99% of people who received a summons or were referred to bailiffs did not actually end up in court or have any goods seized.

"Town halls only take measures such as bankruptcy as an absolute last resort and with people who have a history of non-payment," said the LGA vice-chairman, Sir Jeremy Beecham. "People struggling to pay bills are given as much leeway as possible." A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said it was "only fair" that councils pursued Council Tax debts as not doing so would increase bills for others. "Our existing guidance makes clear that they should only consider court action as a last resort for collecting Council Tax," he said.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.


ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE? 

THE YEAR TO COME

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE GUARDIAN 

PUBLIC AND VOLUNTARY SECTORS - PREDICTS A CASH-STRAPPED YEAR

The year to come is likely to bring a squeeze on public-sector budgets - and see the beginning of a sea change in the way services are delivered. Legislation going though parliament throws the door open for the third sector - especially charities and social enterprises - to provide and commission services across the board in future. At the same time the comprehensive spending review - the government's 10-year spending plan for the public sector, due in summer - is expected to bring an end to recent years of financial growth, putting greater pressure on overstretched budgets.

Lack of money to push through government reforms has already led to one primary care trust attempting to recruit board members with a background in the charitable sector, so it can tap into their expertise of delivering services within limited resources. This is a move which other trusts are predicted to follow - and an illustration of the new partnerships between the public and third sectors which are likely to dominate the next 12 months.

Winter

In January the Department of Health is launching a survey of 5 million patients to discover how soon they can make a GP appointment. The results, due to be published in May, will determine which practices will have a share of a £72m bonus for best patient access payable in July. At the same time the Department of Health is publishing the Commissioning Framework for Health and Well-Being, which takes forward proposals in the Care Outside of Hospital white paper. It will include details about the creation of new community foundation trusts, which will mirror hospital foundation trusts - and also explain how the third sector, including social enterprises, can deliver health services.

Howard Catton, the head of policy at the Royal College of Nursing, says: "The whole issue of acute services and closer to home care will be big through this year. The focus of primary care trusts will be on commissioning; they aren't being told to give up their provider role, but I think they will look at the new community foundation trusts to keep up a provider function." In February, the Department of Health is due to complete its consultation on the future of regulatory services for health and social care. The results will help shape what happens after the healthcare commission and the commission for social care inspection (CSCI).

The new Association of Directors of Children's Services, following the abolition of the Association of Directors of Social Services, launches in February. Its sister organisation, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, follows in March. Health secretary Patricia Hewitt has promised to resign in March if the NHS is still in deficit. Jonathan Fielden, the chairman of the British Medical Association's consultants' committee, says: "The biggest issue for trusts this year will be the desire for financial balance. Finance has become the number one priority for most, if not all trusts in England - which means quality [of services] is being put second."

In February, the next wave of foundation trusts is due to be announced.

Spring

By March, 90% of consultant referrals by GPs should be made through the electronic booking system, Choose and Book, and practice-based commissioning is due to be rolled out nationally. The controversial mental health bill continues its parliamentary process in the spring after reaching committee stage at the end of the year.

The Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo) will begin the year helping charities discover how they can influence the commissioning process and negotiate good contracts. It follows publication of the office of the third sector document, Partnership in Public Services: Action Plan for the Third Sector Involvement, which recommends a three-year funding cycle for charities delivering public services and longer-term contracts.

The new compact commissioner, whose responsibilities include assessing whether charities are paid a fair price for the work they are commissioned to provide, is expected to start to have an impact from now. David Hunter, Acevo's policy and communications officer, says: "He will have a large impact throughout the year, because he will make sure that there is long-term funding and [a] fair share of overheads. If we are to see the third sector transforming public services then we have got to make sure that the resources are being made properly."

The offender management bill, which opens the commissioning of probation services to the voluntary and private sectors, is due to reach its crucial report stage in February. The assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, Harry Fletcher, warns: "If the bill is passed it will be a disaster because local accountability will be eroded. Tendering for services will be done on a regional or national level, so small voluntary organisations who already work with offenders in the community will to go to the wall because they will not be able to compete." The chancellor's budget is due in March. It is expected to be his last - but will he ditch prudence?

The delayed report of the Lyons review on the future of local government finance, including the fate of Council Tax, is due to report around the same time as the budget. Lord Sandy Bruce Lockhart, chairman of the Local Government Association (LGA), says: "Local government has some real opportunities within the year and the chance to seize a once-in-a-generation moment to ensure that local people have a greater say in how key services can be delivered for them at the right time in the right place at the right cost. It will also confront some daunting challenges, not least rising demand, increasing legislative costs and tighter financial restraint."

Summer

The chancellor is due in the summer to announce details of the comprehensive spending review - the 10-year spending plan for public services. It is expected to be "revenue neutral", offering only inflation-level increases in spending. The LGA is worried that it could trigger cuts in council spending as boroughs face paying the lion's share for care of the elderly services which are joint-funded with the NHS. By April all patients needing a diagnostic test should be seen within 13 weeks. The inspection of children's services is being taken away from CSCI in April and transferred to the new Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills - which will also inspect the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass). The controversial welfare reform bill, which changes the incapacity and housing benefit systems, is expected to gain royal assent in May. 

Autumn and winter

The Charity Commission is due to start consulting on the definition of the public benefit clause of the Charities Act, and expects to publish guidance in September. The clause requires that all charities must exist for the public benefit. The local government and public involvement in health bill, which aims to reduce the amount of top-down control from Whitehall, is expected to become law by November.

By the end of the year, the number of established children's centres should be increased - as well as an expansion of the government's extended-schools programme. The president of the Association of Directors of Social Services, John Coughlan, says: "I think we will be in the position of transforming the reforms in children's services into action. I think we will see tangible evidence of delivering integrated children's services."

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.


ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

FRAUD AND ERRORS WORTH MORE THAN £20M IN PUBLIC SECTOR

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: BBC

OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS WERE PAID TO 179 DEAD PEOPLE

More than £20m in fraud and incorrect benefits and pensions payments have been identified in the public sector. Identified losses included 179 occupational pensions being paid to dead people and 405 incorrect benefits payments to public sector staff. The National Fraud Initiative collected information from 74 public bodies including councils, health boards and the Scottish Public Pensions Agency.

This is the third such initiative totalling about £58m in savings. Public spending watchdog Audit Scotland said £21.1m was saved by recovering cash which had been paid out as a result of fraud, overpayment or errors. Savings were also made by preventing money from being wrongly paid out. 

The report warned that although it had been successful in identifying considerable fraud and mistakes, most data was collected before the start of the recession. An economic downturn is commonly linked to a heightened risk of fraud and public bodies have been advised to remain vigilant.

Auditor General for Scotland Robert Black said: "Most people are honest and behave with integrity. Some do make genuine mistakes, but there is a small number who set out to cheat the public sector. "The National Fraud Initiative helps public bodies save and recover money by identifying cases where payments such as pensions and housing benefits are being wrongly paid to people, either through human error or incorrect information.

"It also helps them detect deliberate fraud."

Two wages

In one case, a council employee who had moved to another council was not taken off the payroll by the previous employer and ended up being paid by both local authorities for almost two years. The council was not informed of the error and the worker was incorrectly paid about £98,000. The local authority is trying to recover the money and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.

Councils have also stopped or reduced housing benefit payments to 1,447 public sector workers and pensioners. In 4,322 cases the single person's council tax discount was withdrawn for being invalid. And 4,340 blue badges for disabled people were cancelled because the holder was dead.

New powers

The auditors said 220 cases had resulted in sanctions being applied, such as 89 cases in which suspected frauds had been reported to the procurator fiscal. A total of 18 workers have either been dismissed or have resigned from their job. Audit Scotland will carry out its next anti-fraud exercise in October, by which time it is expected new powers will allow more collaboration between other UK agencies to detect cross-border fraud. The range of public sector bodies involved could also be extended and the next exercise could also detect crimes other than fraud.

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX.

ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?

LONDON PARISH BACKS BID TO BECOME 'PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF QUEEN'S PARK'

FIRST PUBLISHED BY: THE GUARDIAN 

THE CREATION OF LONDON'S FIRST PARISH COUNCIL IN 50 YEARS WINS SUPPORT OF 68% OF VOTERS

The Queen's Park parish council campaign was backed by Westminster North Labour MP Karen Buck. Just days after the launch of the campaign to persuade Scots to vote for independence, the residents of a patch of north London have said "yes" to some autonomy of their own. 

Following a referendum campaign which was little noticed outside of the neighbourhood it concerned, the wheels have been set in motion for the creation of London's first parish council in 50 years – or what may yet come to be known with tongue in cheek as the People's Republic of Queen's Park.

While Conservative-controlled Westminster council was quick to claim the result on Monday was a seal of approval for the government's localism agenda, the campaign in the Queen's Park ward in fact drew support from across the political spectrum, including from the constituency's Labour MP, Karen Buck. The result, announced at Marylebone town hall, revealed that 1,100 residents (68%) backed the creation of a governing entity that will be funded by a precept added to Council Tax bills.

Members of a group of locals who waged a two-year campaign for London's first parish council since 1963 – the bodies were abolished to make way for the Greater London Council – say they want the authority to run community events, look after an allotment, produce a newsletter, support vulnerable locals and engage with other service providers including Westminster council. The first councillors will be elected in May 2014 on the same date as other local elections. Most residents in the area, bordered by Kilburn Lane in the north and Harrow Road in the south, live in social housing. There are high levels of unemployment and significant deprivation.

Angela Singhate, who chaired the yes campaign, said: "The group has been confident all along that a community council is the way forward for Queen's Park and this result demonstrates that we have the backing of the wider community." Buck said: "Something very exciting is happening in Queen's Park. I am incredibly proud of the community and of those who have thrown themselves with such enthusiasm into preparing for community self-government. "I am looking forward to working with them for a safer, healthier and happier Queen's Park."

Philippa Roe, the leader of Westminster council, has said the council held the referendum because it saw opportunities created through "greater civic involvement and participation". Her deputy leader, Robert Davis, said the referendum result amounted to "a fitting endorsement of the government's ambitions for localism and neighbourhood engagement".

READ WHAT: ERIC PICKLES ‘SECRETARY OF STATE’ SAYS ABOUT OVER-CHARGED COUNCIL TAX. 


ARE YOU PAYING TOO MUCH COUNCIL TAX - CHECK HERE?