Latest news with #impactAssessment
New York Times
a day ago
- General
- New York Times
How to Survive a Crisis
Lucy Easthope describes herself as 'the last responder.' When disaster strikes, emergency workers rush in to deliver aid. But Dr. Easthope, a visiting professor of mass fatalities and pandemics at the University of Bath in England, tells me that her specialty is what comes after. She has spent 24 years helping people recover from catastrophes like the Sept. 11 attacks, the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 and the London subway bombings in 2005. Her many tasks include working in the rubble retrieving remains and personal effects, advising on cleanup and reconstruction, and helping stricken communities mend. In her upcoming book, 'Come What May: Life-Changing Lessons for Coping With Crisis,' Dr. Easthope writes about what a life in emergency management has taught her about weathering difficult times. She shared her insights on how to deal with everyday loss and calamities like death, a bad diagnosis, divorce or being fired. When she arrives on the scene of a disaster, the first thing Dr. Easthope does is write down every single thing that has happened, no matter how small: the collapsed bridge, but also the destroyed community garden. This is called an impact assessment. When something bad happens, she said, we can all benefit from making our own impact assessment. Write down everything that's affected by the event, whether it's physical, psychological or logistical, she said. This can help you understand what you have been through, how it is affecting you in all realms of your life and what is or isn't fixable. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Eight in 10 councils did not assess impact of second homes tax raid
Eight in 10 councils charging the second homes premium failed to carry out impact assessments before introducing the policy, The Telegraph can reveal. Critics said it 'beggars belief' that town halls did not take into account the economic impact of the tax raid despite government guidance recommending they do so. More than 200 authorities in England brought in a 100pc council tax premium on second home owners from April 1. They were handed the power to do so by measures brought in by the previous Conservative government in 2023. Government documents released at the time said: 'Councils should carefully consider whether to charge a premium and make an assessment of possible impacts, including on the local population, its communities and the local economy.' However, just 27 (19pc) of the 145 local authorities that responded to a Freedom of Information request sent by the TaxPayers' Alliance said they had produced an impact assessment. They included: Camden, Cornwall, Durham and the Isle of Wight. Authorities in so-called 'holiday not-spots' such as Bradford, Coventry and Preston were among those who failed to carry out an assessment. Critics have repeatedly questioned why such areas, which have low proportions of second home owners, require the policy. Kevin Hollinrake, shadow housing minister, said: 'We know the Government hasn't carried out its own assessment of the impact of this tax. So it beggars belief that councils aren't doing so either. 'Local residents are already reeling from higher bills, lower income and record taxes because of this punishing Labour government. This will make things worse, not better.' The Government has repeatedly made clear that it is for 'councils to exercise their own judgement on whether to apply a premium'. The Telegraph is calling for the second home council tax surcharge to be slashed or abolished. So far, our campaign has revealed that as little as 9p in every £1 generated from the raid is being spent on affordable housing. The Telegraph also found that 55 authorities are locked in expensive disputes with second home owners who had appealed their bills. John O'Connell, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: 'These latest revelations only further demonstrate how disastrous this policy has been, with taxpayers footing the bill for avarice of England's town halls. 'When designing this policy, ministers anticipated it would only be used in certain cases, and would be accompanied by impact assessments. Yet this has not been the case and in most of the country councils have simply used it as a naked cash grab. 'Labour now has a unique opportunity to reverse the harm done by the previous government and scrap this premium for the next financial year.' It comes after the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), run by Angela Rayner, came under criticism for refusing to investigate the national impact of the raid. In response to a question posed by Mr Hollinrake, the department said it was up to individual councils to decide if the policy was 'effective'. An MHCLG spokesman said: 'It is for councils to exercise their own judgement on whether to apply a premium and they should consider our statutory guidance on impacts and exceptions.' A spokesman for the Local Government Association said the second homes raid is a way of 'encouraging owners to bring these properties back into permanent use'. He added: 'However, we remain clear that council tax itself has never been the solution to meeting the long-term pressures.'
