COUNCIL TAX SUPPORT TO BE PROTECTED

First Published By: The Scottish Government

OVER HALF A MILLION SCOTS WILL BE PROTECTED FROM UK GOVERNMENT CUTS TO COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT.

The UK Government will abolish the existing Council Tax Benefit in April 2013 and cut the successor budget by 10 per cent. The Scottish Government and COSLA have now agreed to cover the £40 million cost of the cuts in 2013-14 - the Scottish Government will provide £23 million and COSLA will provide £17 million.

558,000 people in Scotland on the lowest incomes currently receive Council Tax benefit, including the unemployed, pensioners, those who cannot work because of disability, carers and people who receive tax credits. We will not allow them to be victims of UK cuts - we will work to protect them.

Working closely together, the Scottish Government and councils will now cover the £40 million cost of the Council Tax benefit cut in 2013-14 to protect vulnerable individuals, a unique approach across Great Britain.  In the coming months we will establish a national schedule of reductions to Council Tax, so that anyone currently receiving Council Tax benefit will not have to pay more Council Tax in the next financial year.

The Scottish Government is looking after household budgets, with a Council Tax freeze, free prescriptions, concessionary travel, and our abolition of road tolls and tuition fees. It is right that we take action to protect the thousands of pensioners and families who would have been affected. Only through this decisive action by the Scottish Government and COSLA can vulnerable people in Scottish society be protected.

We have challenged the UK Government on their cuts to Scotland and their attack on the least well off. We will put in place measures that reflect the compassion and fairness of Scotland in line with our Council Tax freeze.

COSLA President Councillor Pat Watters said: “Scottish local government has a long and proud history of standing up for and protecting the most vulnerable in society. “In taking this decisive action to cover the cost of Council Tax benefit, together with the Scottish Government, we will once again be protecting the most vulnerable in society.

Can I be clear that we are talking here about the real victims of this particular cut and that is why Scottish local government firmly believes it is the right and proper thing to do and why we are willing to put in our share of the £40 million needed to protect them from the reality of such a harsh cut.”

David Manion, Chief Executive of Age Scotland, said:

“It is reassuring to see the Scottish Government and COSLA working together to ameliorate some of the pain that older, vulnerable people will feel and Age Scotland welcomes the decision to allocate £40 million to help them with their Council Tax bills.

Council Tax benefit is a hugely important benefit for older people on low incomes and we are delighted that following the move to devolve responsibility for this entitlement to Scotland, the Scottish Government and COSLA are ensuring that it is retained. “Westminster’s 10 per cent reduction in funds would lead to a significant drop in support and additional financial pressures for some people who are already struggling on low incomes and we are confident that older people below pension age who are on low wages, or are unemployed and have long-term health problems will greatly benefit from this additional support.”

558,000 people receive Council Tax Benefit (CTB) in Scotland, which is worth £387 million to Scotland. Eligibility is based on a number of factors, including income, savings, receipt of other benefits and financial status of partners. 

Certain people are automatically considered for Council Tax benefit if they receive other benefits though a system of ‘passported benefits’, such as income support, Pension credits or Job Seeker’s Allowance. CTB is administered by local authorities on behalf of the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP), who meet the costs of benefits and the administration of the system. 

Council Tax Benefit is paid to Local Authorities, not to individuals. Individuals in receipt of CTB receive a Council Tax bill net of the benefit paid by DWP. Councils handle applications, calculations and any initial appeals against awards and provide the public face of support to applicants.

The UK Government’s Welfare Reform Act will abolish CTB from April 2013 and the UK Government will then ‘localise’ support for Council Tax to individual Councils in England.  Reduced funding - current CTB levels minus 10 per cent - will pass to the Scottish Government which will be responsible for assisting individuals to meet their Council Tax liabilities from April 2013.

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

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COUNCIL TAX FREEZE SPLITS TORIES

First Published by: BBC

COUNCIL TAX FREEZE SPLITS TORIES

The government's drive for a Council Tax freeze has brought tensions with council leaders to the surface.

Tory council leaders have long been privately voicing their exasperation and that's putting it politely - with Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles and his handy hints and tips as to how they should be doing their jobs.

This centres on what they would see as his overly optimistic view of their ability to maintain essential public services in the face of dwindling finances.

The government's drive for a country-wide Council Tax freeze next year has brought these tensions to the surface. Mr Pickles is offering councils a one-off payment - equivalent to a 2.5% rise in their Council Tax - if they agree to a freeze for the coming financial year.

Ministers, of course, have no power to enforce a freeze. Indeed there are few things they like talking about more than all the decision-making powers they are returning to local communities.

Balancing act. 

At the same time Mr Pickles - and his lieutenant Local Government Minister Bob Neill - are making it quite clear that in their opinion councils have a "moral duty" to take the money and freeze the Council Tax. Not to do so, they say, would be a "kick in the teeth for Council Taxpayers" and to "treat the local electorate with contempt".

So it's not a great time to be leading a Conservative council which takes the view that it can't balance the books without putting up Council Tax. South Hams District Council leader John Tucker is one of many council chiefs facing new challenges

Most Tory councils are toeing the line. But authorities like Surrey County Council and South Hams District Council in Devon are kicking back. Surrey is implementing a 2.99% increase. So councillors there clearly don't feel the government's 2.5 will even cover this year - let alone the longer term.

South Hams is putting Council Tax up by just 2.5%. On the face of it, this is more puzzling: wouldn't it be cleverer to accept the government's generous offer, give your electors a little Council Tax holiday and then put up Council Tax the following year if you really felt you had to?

It's not that simple, though, for councils like South Hams or Surrey.

They clearly see Council Tax as something which - like hot air - has an inexorable tendency to rise.

Accordingly, their financial planning is obviously based on at least a vague presumption of cumulative increases in the years to come. South Hams' 2.5% increase will roll over automatically into the council's base funding in the following year and the years after that.

Taking Uncle Eric's short term shilling would have thrown things into disarray because the money simply wouldn't be there to roll over into the next year.

A council could, in theory, simply whack up the Council Tax the following year to fill the hole. This, though, would present a major headache in practice. Maintaining the funding level provided by the expired government grant would mean a 2.5% Council Tax rise just for starters.

Throw in the additional rise calculated for that year itself (let's say another 2.5% or so for the sake of argument) and the council would be in real trouble.

Demanding an increase of 5% or more from taxpayers at one fell swoop would have run the risk of capping under Labour. Now, councils face an even more formidable obstacle: any increase above 3.5% would have to be subject to a local referendum. And the government has made it clear that threshold could change in future.

Eric Pickles reportedly told the Local Government Association's finance conference that refusing the Council Tax freeze money because it would not be part of the base funding in future years was a "ludicrous argument". Not because the proposition is untrue, but because the "whole idea" of the freeze is to get councils' financial bases down.

That would seem to leave those Tory councils with their hearts set on year on year tax increases in direct ideological conflict with their colleagues at Westminster. That's one of the points I put to South Hams District Council leader John Tucker this week in the film below.

We also touched on a general feature of the government's much-trumpeted localisms agenda.

On the one hand, ministers going out of their way to bang on about local authorities having the freedom to make the judgements they see fit.

But, on the other, making it emphatically clear what they think those decisions should be and publicly excoriating those councils who dare to use their freedom to disagree. 

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

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LABOUR AND LIB DEMS IN SOUTHAMPTON AXE COUNCIL TAX DISCOUNT FOR PENSIONERS

First Published by: Daily Echo

PENSIONERS IN SOUTHAMPTON FACE A COUNCIL TAX HIKE

The Liberal Democrats seize power in Southampton, ruling Tories have warned that pensioners will face a Council Tax hike. Both Labour and Lib Dem opposition parties have confirmed they will remove the controversial 10 per cent Council Tax discount for some pensioners brought in three years ago by ruling Tories – costing £1m a year. They argue the current discount is an unfair give-away that benefits richer pensioners and is subsidised by other taxpayers.

The discount – worth more than £100 on average is claimed by 8,308 over-65s households in the city who do not get Council Tax benefit. Now Conservatives have accused the opposition parties of a “pernicious attack on pensioners”. Alongside crime, the discount will be among the issues at the top of the agenda for pensioners voting in crunch local elections which will decide who runs the council for the next two years.

Two months ago Labour leader Richard Williams said the party wanted to “reallocate the £1,000,000 rich pensioners’ Council Tax discount to services that help many more elderly and vulnerable people.” A fortnight later both Labour and the Liberal Democrats unveiled budget plans to cut the discount by half to just five per cent. The move would in effect be a five per cent Council Tax rise for 8,308 pensioners. Only the Lib Dems have made specific mention of the reduction in their election campaign manifesto, in a pledge to scrap “unfair discounts for the rich”. Labour made no mention of the proposed cut in their election manifesto.

But yesterday Labour’s Cllr Williams confirmed to the Daily Echo that his party would look to remove the discount and replace it with unspecified measures to help pensioners. “For next year, we’ll be looking for ways to change the pensioner discount so it benefits those that really need it,” he said. “At the moment it gives most to those that have most. Ten per cent off the tax on a five-bedroom house is worth much more than 10 per cent off the tax on a one-bedroom flat.”

Lib Dem group leader Adrian Vinson, who could hold the balance of power in a hung council, said his party would not support the overnight abolition of the discount but would back it being phased out in future years to protect other services for older people. He said: “We would wish to investigate ways in which the interest of less well-off pensioners could be protected. Our principle concern is not everybody is in hardship, even pensioners.”

Don Harper, from the Southampton Pensioners Forum, said the discount benefited the “poorest pensioners” who had an income, or savings above £16,000, too high to qualify for Council Tax benefit but were still struggling to get by. He said: “With the way prices are going up, if we don’t get the discount I’m sure a lot of people would have to think hard about heating and food bills. “We lost up to £100 a household in cuts to the heating allowance. The Council Tax discount made up for that.” Mr Harper added: “Some people have got this idea that because a lot of us own our own houses we are rich. It’s not true.”

But Christine Melsom, from the IsItFair Council Tax campaign group, said that while many of her members appreciated the discount, it was unfair. She said: “Pensioners are struggling, but they are not the only ones. We must remember that the discount is being paid for by other Council Tax payers, some equally hard up as the pensioners. I really don't agree with it at all.”

She said it would be preferable to raise the thresholds on savings and income to allow more pensioners to qualify for means-tested benefits. IsItFair is campaigning for new tax needs that takes into account ability to pay from income and is not based on property size or value. Tory Council leader Royston Smith denied the discount was a direct appeal to the grey vote, who are more likely to go to the polls than other age groups. He said it was designed to ease the doubling of Council Tax under the last Labour Government and to provide some relief to fixed income pensioners who had been hardest hit by rising prices.

“The withdrawal of the Council Tax discount is a pernicious attack on pensioners in our city,” he said. “The people that have got it are grateful for it. They might be asset rich but not cash rich.” Mr Harper said he doubted whether the retention of the discount would swing pensioners to vote to the Conservatives but said it would be on their minds as they decided who to vote for.

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COUNCILS TURN TO BAILIFFS TO RECOVER TAX DEBTS

First Published by: BBC

I DIDN'T FEEL SAFE IN MY OWN HOME

Debt advisor's have warned of a big rise in the number of local authorities in England and Wales using bailiffs to enforce unpaid Council Tax debts during the recession. Council Tax default cases have risen by a third in the last two years to three million, government figures have revealed. 

The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has reported a 30% rise in the number of people seeking help to deal with bailiffs chasing unpaid Council Tax in the last three years. It said complaints of aggressive behaviour and overcharging by bailiffs were rising and has called for more support to be offered to those unable to pay.

Amanda Buchanan, one of those targeted by a bailiff, said when she had trouble paying her Council Tax bill she contacted her council, but her case was soon passed to a bailiff. Amanda's problems with debt started after a divorce. The bills started piling up and she owed £900 in Council Tax. The knock on the door came when she was breastfeeding her daughter who was aged three months at the time. Watch the interview - terrible.

During the recession we're seeing more and more people under financial pressure, and finding it harder to meet basic bills like Council Tax. Peter Tutton, Citizens Advice Bureau: "It's one of the most personal things a mum and a baby can do," she said. "I was standing at my front door. I was in my home, my sanctuary. I'd asked him not to come in. "He physically pushed his way into my home, walked in and sat on the sofa. I didn't feel safe in my own home for months and months and months after that." 'Just wrong'

Amanda told the BBC she was charged £600 in fees by the bailiff for recovering the debt, but £400 was later returned after she got help from friend Mark O'Keeffe, who had previously worked as a bailiff. He told the BBC that debtors are often overcharged. "They do prey on the fact that most people don't know bailiff law, especially in terms of the overcharging of fees because most people won't be aware of what the fees are," Mr O'Keeffe said. "I think it is outrageous," he added. "For 95% of people who don't pay their Council Tax it is usually not a wanton refusal to pay. It is because they are struggling financially.

Former bailiff Mark O'Keeffe: 'Bailiffs should explain the fees they charge' "So to add on fees that total several hundred pounds to someone who is already struggling is just out and out wrong - criminal in some cases I would suggest." The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) has seen a rise in the numbers of people facing bailiffs for unpaid Council Tax debts. Advisors say they are concerned at the speed with which some councils refer defaulters to bailiff firms instead of finding alternative methods of payments.

The CAB's Peter Tutton said: "The numbers of people who've come for advice about bailiffs collecting Council Tax has gone up by about 30% over the last two or three years. "During the recession we're seeing more and more people under financial pressure, and finding it harder to meet basic bills like Council Tax. So if there's aggressive enforcement against them it could make their debt problems worse."

Unclaimed benefit Councils defend the use of bailiffs because they have a legal duty to collect unpaid Council Tax, and point out that there are ways of helping people who have problems paying the tax. According to the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents councils in England and Wales, £1.8 billion in Council Tax benefit goes unclaimed. "Councils certainly don't enjoy using bailiffs and they would much prefer to help people pay their Council Tax in the first place," said Corin Thomson from the LGA.

I accept that there may be instances where bailiffs charge more than is necessary but these instances are relatively few Steven Everson, ACEA "But the worst thing people can do is put their head in the sand, and not talk to the council, because it is those cases that unfortunately sometimes end up with bailiffs."

The bailiff industry says business has been busy during the recession, but chasing debts and therefore revenue has been harder because people have less ability to pay.

The industry itself is in favour of tighter control on bailiffs because it believes the law covering their activities is too complicated and should be simplified. Steven Everson, director general of the Association of Civil Enforcement Agencies (ACEA), which represents larger bailiff firms, told the BBC that sometimes bailiffs do overcharge debtors, though he said the practice was not widespread.

"In any industry there will be individuals who don't do things according to the book, and I accept that there may be instances where bailiffs charge more than is necessary but these instances are relatively few," he said. The government says bailiffs will be regulated, but probably not for at least two years. 

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COUNCIL TAX DISCOUNT MAY BE SCRAPPED

First Published by: Wigan Today

UP TO 50,000 WIGANERS WOULD BE FINANCIALLY WORSE-OFF

Plans to scrap a Council Tax discount to single people are introduced. Wigan is said to be one of a number of Labour authorities who want to abolish the Single Person’s Discount to raise extra revenue to offset the effect of Government cuts. Almost 50,000 people who live alone across the borough are currently entitled to claim the 25 per cent allowance which works out at an average of £325 for a Band D property.

Opposition Tory Coun James Grundy says that a family were warned by the council’s own registrar staff that the allowance could go as they recorded the death of a parent in the town hall. Nationally more than 7.7 million people receive the relief and local authorities including Liverpool, Sheffield, Nottingham, Burnley and South Tyneside have already suggested changes to end or reduce the Single Person’s Allowance.

Wigan has 34 per cent of households currently eligible for the Allowance which is, say the council, “around the national average.” But Leader of the Council Lord Smith said; “There is a new bill going through Parliament at the moment which passes responsibility to councils to fund Council Tax but will only provide 90 per cent of the cash. “Any change will be the act of the Coalition Government.”

Council Head of Citizens’ Support Anthony Mohammed said that the Government were in the process of reforming the Council Tax system and from next April local authorities will be responsible for designing their own local Council Tax benefit schemes for Council Tax payers on low incomes. He said: “While the government has indicated that it will be changing the rules for some Council Tax discounts, they have not indicated that they intend to change the rules for qualifying for a single person discount.” But Councillor Grundy insisted that he had been contacted by a worried constituent who learned about the alleged changes threat to the allowance from a council officer as she officially registered the death of her father, leaving the widow as another single person household.

He attempted unsuccessfully to raise the matter at the latest full council meeting. More than 40 per cent of the 10,000 people in his Lowton East constituency currently qualify for the allowance, he pointed out. Councillor Grundy said: “My constituent was warned that the council are thinking of getting rid of the Single Person’s Discount, which she is rightly very alarmed about. “At first I though this must be some misunderstanding or misinformation because I hadn’t heard much of a whisper about it. 

“But now I find that a number of Labour councils, because they want to raise additional revenue, have written to the Communities Secretary Eric Pickles earlier this year asking to do precisely that, or certainly reduce it. “With the number of widows this would effect across Wigan, abolishing the Single Person’s Allowance would be inflicting the real Granny tax. “If this was to go through I would consider it nothing less than a tax on widows and utterly disgraceful.”

HOWEVER: COUNCILS MISSING OUT ON MILLIONS DUE TO COUNCIL TAX DISCOUNTS

First Published by: Gloucestershire

TAX breaks on empty properties and second homes cost Gloucestershire councils more than £6 million last year. The estimated bill for providing exemptions and discounts came to £6,306,000. Some local authorities give second homes a Council Tax discount, while owners of empty properties may also not be liable for the full amount.

There are exemptions for homes which are vacant for up to six months, undergoing major repair work or have been repossessed. A property empty for longer than six months may continue to qualify for a discount of up to 50 per cent. According to figures published by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the cost to Cheltenham for providing these discounts and exemptions is £1,433,000. In the Cotswolds, it is £1,159,000 while Tewkesbury's figure stands at £446,000.

The three other districts lost out on more than £3 million between them due to the discounts. The Government published proposals at the end of last year which could see Council Tax imposed on empty homes aimed at ending the 'scandal' of abandoned properties. Cheltenham Borough Council gives a 10 per cent discount for empty homes, but does not give any money off for long-term empty properties. Revenues manager Jayne Gilpin said: "Cheltenham Borough Council exercised it's discretion to set the minimum level of discount when legislation was introduced in April 2004.”The decision was made in support of the council's strategy to reduce the number of empty homes in the town."

Tewkesbury Borough Council director of resources George Hill said: "Currently, Tewkesbury Borough Council charges a 100 per cent Council Tax on empty and substantially unfurnished properties where their statutory exemptions have expired. "Where a second home is substantially unfurnished, we award a 10 per cent discount." Ministers say the power to increase the levy – possibly by as much as an extra 50 per cent – on long-term vacant properties would be another 'weapon' in a local authority's armoury in the battle to make better use of housing, while giving a 'nudge' for owners of abandoned homes to bring them back into use.

But the Government insisted the so-called Empty Homes Premium would be discretionary with "essential safeguards and exemptions" to ensure vulnerable people, such as the elderly in long-term residential care, were not penalised by the move. In Cheltenham 403 out of 1,726 (23 per cent) stood empty for more than half a year, in Cotswolds 430 out of 1,139 (38 per cent), and in Tewkesbury 321 out of 822 (39 per cent). Cotswold District Council was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

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COUNCIL TAX COVER-UP - THE TRUTH IS OUT

First Published by: Harrow East 

NEW EVIDENCE OF SERIOUS ERRORS IN COUNCIL TAX BILLS - LABOUR'S COUNCIL TAX COVER-UP

 

The last Government and the Ministers are responsible for deliberately covering up serious problems over the banding of homes for Council Tax, Bob Blackman, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Harrow East, warned. New figures have revealed that Whitehall's Council Tax snoopers have been forced to redo the Council Tax bands of thousands of homes after appeals by householders across Harrow and the country.

Official papers from the Government Council Tax inspectors, the Valuation Office Agency, have admitted that many homes are in the wrong band for Council Tax and families have been paying over the odds for years. Accidentally leaked minutes have confessed that if the tax errors became known, the Government would lose money and would have to pay tax refunds. This was also ruled out since it would generate "adverse press coverage… in the current climate".

The combination of a campaign by 'Money Saving Expert' Martin Lewis, the publication of these leaked minutes and the ITV Tonight documentary, has produced a surge in Council Tax appeals. Now Parliamentary Questions have forced the Government to publish detailed figures on the changes to Council Tax bands. In the last five years, 500,000 existing homes have had their Council Tax band changed: 133,985 homes have moved down a band. In Harrow alone, 321 homes have moved down a Council Tax band as a result of appeals. This proves there are serious and systematic errors in the banding of homes, which Ministers have been covering up to save money.

Wales has been used as a test-bed for a Council Tax revaluation. Three times as many homes moved up a band as down. Yet since that 2005 revaluation, a succession of errors has also been uncovered with the Valuation Office Agency's work. To date, 1 in 20 homes in Wales have had their post-revaluation banding corrected. A wholesale Council Tax revaluation has thus caused more problems than it solved.

Bob Blackman said:

"We now have clear evidence of a Council Tax cover-up. The Labour Government has been caught red-handed fiddling Council Tax to make families in Harrow and across the country pay more. Whitehall bureaucrats know that many homes across the country are wrongly banded, but have refused to correct the tax inspectors' errors to save the Government money and save face. "The whole basis of our tax system is undermined if the state conspires to over-charge the public. Labour Ministers only want to reform the Council Tax system if it rakes in extra cash for the Government coffers."

Council Tax bills vary according to the banding of a property; for example, a Band E house pays 22% a year more than a Band D house (or £315 a year more for a typical home in England). Last year, Labour Ministers were forced to publish the minutes of the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board. The Valuation Office Agency are England's Council Tax inspectors, and are an arm of HM Revenue & Customs. The minutes show the fallout after the controversial plans for an English Council Tax revaluation in May 2007 were postponed in October 2005. The Revaluation Board minutes include a series of comments which are blacked out, since they relate to "an ongoing policy issue".

The secret comments show that the revaluation exercise identified certain homes in certain streets were currently wrongly banded, and are paying over the odds (so-called 'consequentials'). Yet Ministers covered up this information due to the implications: having to pay refunds and lose money and the subsequent bad press coverage. The secret minutes stated: "What action should be taken by Groups on consequentials identified following data enhancement. Concern was expressed about the possible knock on implications for billing authorities and adverse press coverage this could generate in the current climate. Action Point  to establish potential numbers involved with GVOs. Action will then be agreed with ODPM and Ministers".

SURGE IN APPEALS REVEALED WIDESPREAD ERRORS

Financial guru, Martin Lewis ('Money Saving Expert'), has run a big campaign on errors in Council Tax banding, highlighting errors by the Valuation Office Agency. Combined with the cover-up exposed by Conservatives, this has lead to a surge in the number of Council Tax appeals. The BBC said: 

 BBC News Online, "Homeowners must check tax band", 25 January 2007. When a home is placed in too high a Council Tax band, any subsequent refund can date back for years, incurring considerable cost to the Exchequer. New Parliamentary Questions by Conservatives have forced Ministers to publish new details exposing the scale of errors to existing Council Tax banding of homes across England, following that the surge in appeals.

"Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the supplementary memorandum from the Valuation Office Agency presented to the Treasury Select Committee, dated 29 October 2008, which amendments to the Council Tax valuation lists involving movements to a lower band were made in each billing authority in each of the years to March (a) 2006, (b) 2007 and (c) 2008.

John Healey: This information is currently being assembled for publication. I will place a copy in the Library of the House as soon as possible."

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