Latest news with #counciltax
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Blackburn with Darwen drops council tax for terminally ill people
Terminally ill people in a Lancashire borough who have less than a year to live will no longer have to pay council across all parties in Blackburn with Darwen approved the decision, making it the second local authority in England to take the step after Manchester introduced the scheme in June. End-of-life care charities Marie Curie and Hospice UK said they wanted other councils and devolved governments to follow suit. Labour council leader Phil Riley described it as a "worthy idea" but said he had concerns about potentially "intrusive conversations". "There are some practical issues but I am absolutely clear we can look at this," he said."It helps people at a very serious moment in their lives."My over-riding concern is that, if we are not careful, it gets some of the council officers into some fairly intrusive conversations which will be uncomfortable."He said the "very obvious one is that what do you do if someone believed they were going to die and then didn't and whether you go back". Council tax worries Speaking earlier this month, Marie Curie senior policy manager Jamie Thunder said a terminal diagnosis could mean an individual or their partner having to reduce their working hours, or stop altogether."Council tax is one of the larger bills that you might have to pay," he said."It's also one people are very worried about missing particularly because the enforcement of council tax can be quite sudden and ramp up quite quickly."So taking that bit of pressure off is a really valuable thing."The Local Government Association, which represents English councils, said some discretion and support for terminally ill people was already available but there was interest in the new steps being taken. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Surrey County Council heading to a financial 'cliff's edge'
A council in Surrey could be pushed to the brink of financial crisis if government reforms go ahead, aimed at evening out local authority funding, its leader has Oliver said Surrey County Council could be heading towards a "cliff edge" under proposals which could dramatically reduce its government is looking at scrapping the current council tax funding model in favour of a national 100% "equaliser" system where each local authority gets the same amount of council leader Mr Oliver's warning came during a cabinet meeting, where he suggested the government's Fair Funding Review would hit Surrey harder than most councils due to its higher council tax base. Mr Oliver said: "There is an expectation we will look to our residents to fill that gap. "That gap won't be filled- can't be filled- even if we were to increase council tax by 5%."Currently, Surrey has a high council tax base, meaning it has more band H houses, paying at least £3,692.70 in 2025, compared to other parts of the funding reforms under consideration could flatten out this advantage by reallocating resources away from wealthier counties like Surrey and towards lower-income authorities, according to Local Democracy Reporting Oliver said: "It's absolutely essential that we drive efficiencies wherever possible."A government statement on the Fair Funding Review said: "Our reforms will take into account the different needs and costs faced by communities across the country, including adjusting for the costs of remoteness faced by rural communities, and the ability of individual local authorities to raise council tax, while also resetting business rates income."It will update the crucial formulae used to calculate funding allocations, which are a decade out of date."
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Thousands in Lewisham could be owed millions in council tax refunds
You could be entitled to claim council tax according to a new FOI, which revealed that Lewisham Council currently holds nearly £8 million in overpaid council tax. An information request to Lewisham Council revealed that a total of £7,863,925.04 (between 2000 and 2025) remains unclaimed across 57,977 households. The figure represents 25 years of overpaid council tax, with credits left on closed or inactive accounts during that timeframe. The figures, released in response to a Freedom of Information request, show that many residents could unknowingly be entitled to refunds worth hundreds of pounds. The unclaimed money dates to the year 2000 and includes overpayments made as recently as 2025. Between the year 2000 and 30 June 2025, Lewisham Council collected £2,686,604,331 in council tax, and the amount currently left in unclaimed credits represents 0.2927 per cent of that total. According to Lewisham Council, 67.89 per cent of council tax accounts are paid by Direct Debit as of June 30, 2025. Of the total £7,863,925.04 in overpaid council tax held by Lewisham Council, 18.2 per cent relates to the last three years, at £1,433,477.29. In the 2023 financial year, £573,502.38 was overpaid, representing 0.0213 per cent of all council tax collected between 2000 and 2025. This increased in 2024, with £802,060.72 in overpayments, equating to 0.0299 per cent of the total collected. In the first half of 2025 alone, a further £57,914.19 was recorded as overpaid, making up 0.0022 per cent. The majority of Lewisham's council tax accounts are paid by Direct Debit. As of June 30, 2025, 67.89 per cent of all council tax accounts used Direct Debit as the primary payment method. In most cases, overpayments made via Direct Debit are refunded automatically, however refunds can be missed if an account is closed - such as when a resident moves house - or if payment details are no longer up to date. A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: "Lewisham Council is committed to ensuring our council tax collection processes are transparent and fair. "We appreciate that overpayments may occur from time to time for a variety of reasons. When this happens, residents can be sure that any overpaid council tax is accounted for and can be refunded upon request. "Anyone who believes they may have overpaid or who wishes to query a council tax bill should get in touch using our dedicated online form. "We review every claim and, where a refund is warranted, payments are processed within 20 working days. In many cases refunds are sent automatically once an overpayment is identified."
Telegraph
22-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Surrey council plots ‘pointless' second homes tax raid
Councillors have agreed to launch a 'pointless' tax raid on second home owners in Staines, despite concerns no one will pay up. Spelthorne Borough Council has just 76 second home owners on its books, yet it has agreed to bring in a 100pc council tax premium from April 2027. Critics argued the small share of second home owners – which equates to 0.2pc of the Surrey borough's housing stock – will avoid paying the levy by making use of exemptions. Owners can swerve the additional rate for 12 months by listing their property for sale, without having to commit to a transaction. The home can also be marketed for let. Spelthorne Council, which was more than £1bn in debt as of January, became the latest local authority to tax second home owners following a meeting on Thursday. Local authorities in England were given the power to charge a double tax premium from April 1 under laws passed by the previous Conservative government.
BBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Second home owners in part of Surrey hit with double tax bill
Second home owners in a Surrey borough will be hit with double council tax bills in an effort to "combat housing shortages". Spelthorne Borough Council has agreed to introduce a 100% council tax premium on furnished properties that are not used as someone's main home, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).The change, set to start from 1 April 2027, means affected owners will pay twice the standard council tax rate on their second councillor Darren Clarke said at the council meeting: "There are better ways in order to try and occupy more homes than just increasing the amount of council tax that can be levied against them, in a kind of cash grab." Members agreed to initiate the changes for second homes and properties that have been empty for a year at a full council meeting on Thursday. The decision came after the government changed local authority powers to set council tax for empty second homes.A council report stated the policy was "to encourage owners to bring the properties back into the housing market for occupation to combat housing shortages nationwide whilst obtaining further council tax payments to fund local services".The LDRS reported only 76 properties in the borough would be affected by the change, according to council documents.
