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Thought the bedroom tax was bad? Let’s talk about cuts to council tax support Thought the bedroom tax was bad? Let’s talk about cuts to council tax support
(7 days later)
After fleeing domestic violence, Eve found a new job and a home for her three children. The youngest was two years old. The pay wasn’t great, as so many families find now, but the situation drastically worsened when her council tax support was cut after April 2013. Eve became one of millions suddenly liable for council tax payments, when previously she would have been exempt due to poverty. Once you miss a payment, within 14 days you can find yourself in court, as Eve did, with a fifth of her income confiscated each month. Then the bailiffs arrived. In a rented, furnished flat, there was nothing to take, but the visits made her contemplate suicide.After fleeing domestic violence, Eve found a new job and a home for her three children. The youngest was two years old. The pay wasn’t great, as so many families find now, but the situation drastically worsened when her council tax support was cut after April 2013. Eve became one of millions suddenly liable for council tax payments, when previously she would have been exempt due to poverty. Once you miss a payment, within 14 days you can find yourself in court, as Eve did, with a fifth of her income confiscated each month. Then the bailiffs arrived. In a rented, furnished flat, there was nothing to take, but the visits made her contemplate suicide.
Much attention has been paid to the bedroom tax, but remarkably little to changes in council tax. Often they affect the same people: 380,000 have been caught by the bedroom tax and 270,000 by both the bedroom tax and cuts to council tax support. But the scope of the cuts to council tax support are extreme: more than 2.3 million families have lost out, and in the first six months of the policy, almost half a million people were issued court summons for arrears.Much attention has been paid to the bedroom tax, but remarkably little to changes in council tax. Often they affect the same people: 380,000 have been caught by the bedroom tax and 270,000 by both the bedroom tax and cuts to council tax support. But the scope of the cuts to council tax support are extreme: more than 2.3 million families have lost out, and in the first six months of the policy, almost half a million people were issued court summons for arrears.
More than 2.3 million families have lost their council tax supportMore than 2.3 million families have lost their council tax support
And as of yesterday, 250,000 low-income families will see their council tax payments increase substantially because they live in one of the 27 areas that are raising or introducing the minimum payment. Families are expected to pay between 5% and 30% of their total council tax liability – what sounds like a small sum cuts drastically into the day-to-day budgets of people already in entrenched poverty. One woman I spoke to only drank cold water and ate sandwiches rather than spend money making tea or cooking food.And as of yesterday, 250,000 low-income families will see their council tax payments increase substantially because they live in one of the 27 areas that are raising or introducing the minimum payment. Families are expected to pay between 5% and 30% of their total council tax liability – what sounds like a small sum cuts drastically into the day-to-day budgets of people already in entrenched poverty. One woman I spoke to only drank cold water and ate sandwiches rather than spend money making tea or cooking food.
Once a payment is missed, the costs mount quickly and the situation can escalate. Council tax debt carries a threat of imprisonment if unpaid, a fact that people in courtrooms are told repeatedly. A few missed payments and suddenly a court summons lands on your doormat, and your arrears are deducted automatically from your benefits, along with court fees and administrative costs. The debts pile up, and you’re poorer than ever.Once a payment is missed, the costs mount quickly and the situation can escalate. Council tax debt carries a threat of imprisonment if unpaid, a fact that people in courtrooms are told repeatedly. A few missed payments and suddenly a court summons lands on your doormat, and your arrears are deducted automatically from your benefits, along with court fees and administrative costs. The debts pile up, and you’re poorer than ever.
Save the Children has raised concerns that bailiff visits as a result of council tax debt are adversely affecting children’s mental health and wellbeing. Most bailiff visits occur when children are at home and many of them have come to associate the knock at the door with their parents’ fear. Children are perceptive, and formative experiences of fear remain for a long time. The fact that having children leaves you vulnerable to greater financial difficulty, and council tax arrears usually result in the local authority demanding the full annual payment, compounds the debt. The Children’s Society has raised concerns that bailiff visits as a result of council tax debt are adversely affecting children’s mental health and wellbeing. Most bailiff visits occur when children are at home and many of them have come to associate the knock at the door with their parents’ fear. Children are perceptive, and formative experiences of fear remain for a long time. The fact that having children leaves you vulnerable to greater financial difficulty, and council tax arrears usually result in the local authority demanding the full annual payment, compounds the debt.
Related: People hit by council tax support cuts are broke, but the system is brokenRelated: People hit by council tax support cuts are broke, but the system is broken
The majority of people have been spared by council tax freeze, which the government says “puts families first”. Unless you’re poor, that is. Then you’ve had your support cut, you’re threatened with court summons and bailiffs, and are trapped in debt.The majority of people have been spared by council tax freeze, which the government says “puts families first”. Unless you’re poor, that is. Then you’ve had your support cut, you’re threatened with court summons and bailiffs, and are trapped in debt.
Stories like Eve’s will become more common. Local authorities that previously held one court date a month for council tax arrears are now holding several. Court rooms are full for the sake of charging the poorest in society a few pounds a week to shield the more comfortable. In the week of the anniversary of the poll tax riots, we should be as angry, if not angrier, about this as we are about the bedroom tax.Stories like Eve’s will become more common. Local authorities that previously held one court date a month for council tax arrears are now holding several. Court rooms are full for the sake of charging the poorest in society a few pounds a week to shield the more comfortable. In the week of the anniversary of the poll tax riots, we should be as angry, if not angrier, about this as we are about the bedroom tax.
• This article was amended on 8 April 2015. An earlier version attributed a report about council tax debt and use of bailiffs to Save the Children. The report, The Wolf at the Door, was produced by the Children’s Society.