Letter to Nottingham City Council

27 January 2014

To Nottingham City Council

We are writing regarding the Consequential Provision Regulations (CPR 2006).

On  9 January 2014 it became headline news that Central Government and Local Councils were not following these regulations in relation to the Bedroom Tax.

Summary

• Since the news about CPR 2006 broke, two of our members have been told by Nottingham City Council that the regulations, which exempt them from Bedroom Tax, do not exist.  We urge the Council to investigate this.
• Nottingham City Council has failed to swiftly and promptly devise or implement a strategy to stop charging and to refund tenants who are exempt from the Bedroom Tax under CPR 2006 or has failed to make known such a strategy.
• We are requesting information on what the Council has done to follow the regulations since their existence became public knowledge.
• We note that Nottingham City Council say that it will not set a no evictions policy for tenants in arrears because of bedroom tax because it is “illegal” (not correct), but they appear to show no such determination or motivation to take action to keep to housing benefit rules.
• We are requesting information on what the Council has done to follow the regulations since their existence became public knowledge.
• We note that Nottingham City Council say that it will not set a no evictions policy for tenants in arrears because of bedroom tax because it is “illegal” (not correct), but they appear to show no such determination or motivation to take action to keep to housing benefit rules.
• We note that last week Nottingham City Council have publicized a motion calling on the Government to scrap the bedroom tax (This is the second such motion in 7 months), but have put no such resources into dealing with the issues raised by the CPR 2006.
• We call on Nottingham City Council to devise and implement an appropriate strategy to respond to errors regarding this regulation.
• We propose a strategy.
• We note that the Council have failed to respond to two letters sent by the campaign and two questions that were submitted to a Council Meeting.  This is not an acceptable response from elected representatives.
• We express concern and give examples of the impact of the bedroom tax and call on all Nottingham City councillors to act to ensure that the Council responds to this letter and that they implement our proposed strategy urgently. We also call on councillors to contact us to discuss the practicalities of a No-evictions policy for Nottingham similar to that implemented by Broxtowe Borough Council.

Main Letter
We have been contacted by two of our members who are being charged Bedroom Tax who read the recent headlines (9 January 2014) about Consequential Provision Regulations 2006 and wanted to inform the Council that they were exempt from Bedroom Tax under these regulations (having been tenants since before 1996).  They were both told (independently) that no such regulations existed.  No information was provided about how to get charges stopped or how to get a refund on Bedroom tax that has been paid.  They were simply told that the regulations did not exist. 

We are extremely concerned that Nottingham City Council is misinforming tenants and charging and failing to refund tenants who are exempt from the Bedroom tax.

Please would you investigate this matter.

Nottingham City Council has repeatedly told the public that they cannot implement a No-evictions policy for people in arrears as a result of Bedroom Tax because it is “illegal”.  They have also said that Broxtowe Borough Council are not implementing such a policy when in fact Broxtowe Borough (with 17 Labour, 17 Conservative and 10 Lib Dem councilors) have agreed, and is keeping to a no evictions policy.  However they have shown no such determination or motivation to keep to Housing Benefit regulations that have recently come to light and correct mistakes made by failing to follow Housing Benefit rules. 

Last week (week beginning 20 January 2014) Nottingham City Council publicised that a motion is being put forward at the next Council meeting calling on the Government to scrap the bedroom tax.  Last July, the Council put forward a similar motion.  It is clear that such motions have no effect.  We question why the Council are putting resources into empty gestures while failing to address the CPR 2006 issue which would free some people from the bedroom tax.

We are calling on the Council to immediately agree, publicise and implement a strategy to stop charging tenants who are exempt, and to refund tenants who have been charged in error as a matter of great urgency.  We are calling on them to use their influence and leadership to urge all Social Housing Providers with tenants in Nottingham to do likewise.

Please would you inform us what Nottingham City Council has done to publicise the regulations, to find out which tenants are exempt, to stop charging people who are exempt and to refund tenants charged in error.

We propose the following strategy:

• Immediately examine records of all tenants who have been charged with bedroom tax to date, or who contact the Council to enquire about the CPR 2006 exemption. Identify all those in continuous receipt of Housing Benefit since before 1996.
• For all those tenants, award Housing Benefit back to 1st of April 2013 immediately. (including those who have been awarded DHP).  Refund all payments made by tenants due to the error. Confirm in writing.
• Publicise the exemption to alert all Nottingham City Housing tenants and all other social housing tenants for whom records don’t go back far enough or who have been forced to hold more than one tenancy during that period.  Encourage them to contact the Council.
• Respond to all enquirers accurately and promptly.  Immediately examine records and where no records exist the onus is on the Council to prove the tenant is not exempt. 
• Inform tenants where they can get free independent advice.

We note that the Council have failed to respond to two letters sent by the campaign and two questions that were submitted to July 2013 Council Meeting.  This is not an acceptable response from elected representatives.

The Bedroom Tax is causing untold pressures on vulnerable and disadvantaged households.  Every week Scrap the Bedroom Tax Defend Council Tax Benefits Nottinghamshire hears of people only going out once a fortnight to shop and pay bills, some spending the day/evenings away from home to reduce heating bills, using food banks, having to borrow from family and friends etc.  We have also heard of tenants having suicidal thoughts and of two attempted suicides prompted by the Bedroom Tax.

We call on all councillors to take leadership on this issue and act to ensure that the Council responds to this letter and that they implement our proposed strategy urgently. We also call on councillors to contact us to discuss the practicalities of a No-evictions policy for Nottingham similar to that implemented by Broxtowe Borough Council.

Yours faithfully

Cathy Meadows

Chair

defendcounciltaxbenefits@yahoo.co.uk