Isitfair
Council Tax Reform
A non party political nationwide campaign
Newsletter 15
I had hoped to give you details of the letter of response to our questions posed to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister but it still hasn’t materialised. If you require a full copy of the letter or press release SAE please. A copy has been sent to Ruth Kelly.
Part of PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE ISITFAIR CAMPAIGN FOR THE REFORM OF COUNCIL TAX
For further press information please contact: Christine Melsom on 01428-712680 or E-mail .
"The Isitfair campaign has no allegiance to any political party, but we welcome efforts by any of the parties which may lead to the scrapping of the present iniquitous tax. We want council tax scrapped andreplacedbyataxrelatedtoeveryone'sabilitytopay.
"We know that last month many thousands of people sent letters of complaint to Mr. Prescott, whose department is responsible for council tax. I received a call from one of his staff who said that it would be impossible to reply to all of the complaints and questions about the tax. He requested that I send a letter from the Isitfair campaign on behalf of all our supporters to which he would reply.
"Our 10 key questions were sent on 20 April 2006:
Question 1: Last year over-65 pensioner households received £200 to help with council tax bills. As things stand the £200 will not be paid towards this year's bills. The consequence of this is that households who received the £200 last year will be faced with a massive increase in 2006/7, typically 25%. It's hard enough for people to find this year's average rise of 4.5% - how do you justify this outrageous additional increase which is a further burden on people who were already struggling to meet last year's bill?
Question 2: Many people with low or modest incomes are ineligible for help and are being forced to use their savings to help pay their council tax bill - is this a deliberate policy? If not, what actions are you taking to ensure you stop plundering the savings of these people?
Question 3: What would you consider to be the maximum percentage of their income that anyone should have to pay to fund local services?
Question 4: How do you justify a single occupier having to pay 50% more (per person) than a two adult household?
Question 5: What steps are being taken to publicise in detail the actual shortfalls in the funding of council pension schemes, and how much will it cost council tax payers to make up these shortfalls?
Question 6: We believe that people should have the right to pay in 12 monthly instalments - why is this not so?
Question 7: Why are parish precepts not capped in the same way that district and county council precepts are capped?
Question 8: Why won’t the government tell us how grants to local authorities are fixed when this is so clearly the dominant factor in setting council tax bills?
Question 9: Do you believe that people should expect to have to downsize to a property in a lower council tax band as a means of reducing the percentage of their income paid in council tax?
Question 10: Do you accept that reform of council tax is an urgent issue? If so, when are we going to see action, by which I do NOT mean a list of recommendations from a review body - by "action" I refer to the implementation of fundamental changes resulting in a fairer system under which everyone is taxed in accordance with their ability to pay.
We await the reply."
Please continue to bombard this department with letters but address to Ruth Kelly and Phil Woolas.
Isitfair Supporters Standin Local Elections
Isitfair candidate in the Bishop's Waltham ward of Winchester City Council - May 4 2006
Isitfair stalwart and Secretary of SHOUT (South Hants Opposes Unfair Taxes), Ruby Margaret Forrest, stood as a candidate in the elections on May 4.
As is usual with single-issue candidates, and fighting against the popular Independent incumbent, we did not win, but we did collect a significant 117 votes (only 3 fewer than the Labour candidate) and have now got the local Isitfair action group “on the electoral map” – so to speak.
As you may have seen on the news, the evening took an unusual turn of events when the ballot box from one of the two polling stations was, accidentally, set on fire while being sealed prior to be being sent to the count in Winchester. (Visions of a combination of Dad’s Army and the Vicar of Dibley spring immediately to mind!)
Some quick-thinking person poured water into the ballot box to put out the fire, but drying out the voting slips and sorting out the burnt bits meant that the count for Bishop’s Waltham was delayed until Friday morning.
However, only a small number of ballot papers (10 to 15) were completely destroyed and, regardless of for whom these destroyed ballot papers were cast, the number would not have affected the final result.
On that basis the “fire-box” event added some excitement to the evening at the count.
Four other members stood in Wards in Cumbria; among them were Margie and Ken Arts, well supported by Steve Atkinson. David Green stood in Fleetpond Ward in Fleet Hampshire. He polled more votes than the Labour Candidate.
We hope that in the next local elections many more Isitfair members will stand. The procedure is (I am told) fairly simple, you just need a very comfortable pair of shoes. This should be a good opportunity for both men and women; men to discuss their gardens and the fouls in last night’s football, and the ladies to discuss the ‘goings on’ on their patch. If you do decide to stand we may be able to put you in touch with other supporters who may be able to help your campaign. Please let me know
Isitfair member Dennis Bustard of Ferndown, Dorset
Dennis, who has been fighting the illogic and unfairness of Council Tax since 1998, when a tribunal dismissed his first appeal, has finally succeeded in having his two bedroom bungalow re-banded from G to F, earning a refund of thirteen years overpayments.
Dennis tells me that he is very grateful for the support of many members at the time of his court hearing for partial non-payment of last year’s council tax.
This led to significant local and national publicity and thence to East Dorset District Council and the Valuation Office re-examining his situation.
Dennis says “This was just a battle; the war against council tax has still to be won”.
If anyone would like to speak to Denis about this, please contact through me.
Recent Meetings
Three recent meetings, one with the Local Government Association, the second with Caroline Spelman and the third with Maria Miller the MP for Basingstoke and Shadow Education have recently taken place. The LGA and Isitfair will shortly be issuing a joint press release regarding the aims of both organisations.
The meeting with Caroline Spelman took place in Portcullis House. Mrs. Spelman has said that she and George Osborne (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer) had read the Isitfair documents and that they would be used in there discussions about the future structure of local taxation. Caroline’s department had been told of the proposal to introduce a new system in Northern Ireland, including a tax of 0.78% of property value. This had been widely reported in the press. She said that the Government appeared to be backtracking on this figure, and that there had been a mention of 0 .5%. It was noted that one of the criticisms put forward by Caroline was that a tax on this basis did not reflect the ability to pay.
She added that the Conservatives would get rid of Regional Assemblies. For now, where they have gained control of Local Authorities and overall control of Regional Assemblies they are, where possible, devolving power and decision making authority back to the local councils.
The full details of the meeting are available from me (SAE please)
Maria Miller was interested in the Campaign as the home of the campaign was close to her constituency and on the whole she agreed with our aims. She too had read the Isitfair proposals and was impressed with their content. We chatted to Maria in the café in Portcullis House. Of course there were many MPs having lunch (not us) including our past arch adversary Mr. Nick Raynesford.
On a recent interview program on BBC 5, Phil Woolas agreed, on air, to meet members of the Isitfair campaign. I have written to ask him to confirm a date for us to discuss the Isitfair proposals. Details of this meeting will appear in a later newsletter.
These are the MPs who promised to present our petition to Parliament and have not yet done so (I apologise if there are any Members who have done so and appear on this list. At the time of ‘going to press’ it was correct).
Banbury / Tony Baldry / North Thanet / Roger GaleBury St Edmunds / David Ruffley / Rochdale / Paul Rowen
Romsey / Sandra Gidley
Cleethorpes / Shona McIsaac / S. E. Cambridgeshire / James Paice
South Cambridgeshire / Andrew Lansley
Eastleigh / Chris Huhne / Southampton Itchen / John Denham
Harrogate & Knaresborough / Phil Willis / Spelthorne / David Wilshire
Hendon / Andrew Dismore / Torridge & W. Devon / Geoffrey Cox
Hertford & Stortford / Mark Prisk / Barrow & Furness / John Hutton
Horsham / Francis Maude / Folkestone & Hythe / Michael Howard
Maidenhead / Theresa May / Guildford / Anne Milton
Mid. Dorset & N. Poole / Annette Brooke / Havant / David Willetts
MoleValley / Sir Paul Beresford / S. W. Surrey / Jeremy Hunt
The Lyons Inquiry
Sir Michael Lyons has issued another interim report on the reform of Local Government. Sir Michael has asked Isitfair if they will meet him in July to discuss the reform of local government and hopefully the reform of the council tax system. We will certainly press our case for affordability and ability to pay from income.
Other News
Ken Lacey from the Western-Super-Mare forum points out that those receiving the £200 last year have this year experienced a 25% rise in their council tax. Although it was made clear by the Government that this was a one off payment, many budgeted this year to include this amount. Together with the huge rises in utility costs well over two weeks in four of the state pension is taken for the payment of council tax, electricity, gas and water. I must agree, unaffordable; the effect of these rises must push many of us nearer and nearer to the benefit system.
Isitfair is still going around the country speaking to residents associations, parish councils and forums etc about council tax and the need for reform. If you would like one of us to address your meeting please let me know well in advance and I will make arrangements.
The Sutton Seniors' Forum have publicised Clare Nunns talk on Friday 9 June. It is in the Thomas Wall Centre, 52 Benhill Avenue, Sutton . Clare says that the meeting is from 2 - 4 pm and that she is on as second speaker at about 2.15pm. It really is for members but please encourage any Isitfair member to come along. If challenged, let them say they've come about the Council Tax talk - no-one will prevent them from coming in. Clare will certainly bang on about the Olympics. I understand that London Boroughs are to pay £20 per year for 20 years towards the financing of the Olympic Games.
Len Marshall, I understand will be making arrangements for more meetings in Lincolnshire. He recently spoke to the Skegness and District Forum and they have agreed to publish details and a form on their Seniors website. They hope that by working with Len and Isitfair beneficial results will be achieved.
I shall be speaking to the Sandhurst Residents Association on Friday 23rd June starting at 8.00pm. The meeting will be held in the Kitty Dancy Room at Sandhurst Memorial Park Council Offices, Yorktown Road, Sandhurst.
Many of our members attended the Pensioners Parliament in Blackpool this month. The Pensioners Parliament run by The National Pensioners Convention was well attended, with speakers from many organisations including The Royal British Legion and Help the Aged: two of the charities endorsing the Isitfair campaign
The Devon Pensioners Action Forum associated with Isitfair, has decided that if there is no reform of the council tax system reflecting the ability to pay, no more council tax will be paid after December 2006. Many more members of the Isitfair campaign across the country have already decided to join this action. I would be interested to know just how many of our postal members will consider participating.
Isitfair has grown enormously over the years and needs to recruit members who are prepared to help in various ways with the running of the campaign. Attached is a copy of a recruitment leaflet. If possible can you please make some copies of this and distribute them in your area. Younger members are particularly welcome as council tax plays a big part in their getting a foot on the property ladder. Council Tax is almost like having to take out a second mortgage. It is unaffordable to both young and old alike.
Yours in the cause,
Christine
Founder - Christine Melsom, Willow Cottage, Church Lane, Headley, Hampshire, GU35 8PJ
Web site: E mail: Tel: 01428 712 680
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