Council Tax - no changes for pensioners

09/01/2008

Despite the screamingly obvious need for Council Tax changes for pensioners, it looks as though the government has ruled out any significant reforms for older people in the near future.

 

The Mature Times recently asked readers what they wanted from Gordon Brown - and fairer, affordable, Council Tax came up very high on that list. But in a move that is set to inflame millions, local government minister John Healey told the National Pensioners Convention recently that there were no plans to to reinstate the £200 Council Tax rebate or increase the single occupancy discount above 25%. Nor are they currently considering introducing a fairer system of local government funding based on ability to pay.

 

Instead, he suggested that the increasingly unpopular means-tested Council Tax Benefit could be made easier to claim. How out of touch can the government get?

 

Efforts over the last two years to encourage older people to claim that benefit have produced very poor results. In fact, £2.5 billion is still left unclaimed each year, largely because pensioners are confused and embarrassed about claiming. 

Healey and the government have singularly failed to grasp that for thousands upon thousands of pensioner households, Council Tax is the biggest expense.

 

When will it change - if ever?

 

 

Name and address supplied