Local campaign group calls meeting with Nottingham City Council over bedroom tax pre-court protocol failures.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Scrap the Bedroom Tax Defend Council Tax Benefits campaign have requested a meeting with Nottingham City Council as a matter of urgency amid concerns that the Council are failing to follow the pre-court protocol for tenants hit with the bedroom tax.

The campaign group are concerned that the council is not engaging with tenants who are in bedroom tax arrears, not giving tenants the information they need, and not trying to make arrangements with them before taking them to court. 

In the most recent example, a tenant who is less than four weeks in arrears and whose arrears have been decreasing since January, has received a court summons for possession of their home from the council.

This is the second time the campaign group has requested in writing, a meeting with Councillors, as well as previously making a verbal request.

We will keep you up to date with the outcome of this meeting request.

Bedroom Tax Protest

The Scrap the Bedroom Tax, Defend Council Tax Benefits campaign group are holding a protest against the bedroom tax on Saturday 5th April 2014 from 1pm at the Brian Clough statue (off Market Square, Nottingham).

Please come along and show your support.

Solidarity for Ross Longhurst

Council Tax protester Ross Longhurst could face going to prison.

Later today (13th March 2014) the council tax protester Ross Longhurst, well known for his Robin Hood hat when he is protesting against the Council Tax is due in Magistrates Court over non-payment of council tax.

Last night the spokes person for Scrap the Bedroom Tax, Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign made this statement.

many people are being forced to choose between food, heating and paying bills because of attacks on Council Tax Support and Bedroom Tax and we give support to anyone who cannot pay the council tax who is now being asked to pay. We are giving advice to people on a case by case basis.

We give solidarity to Ross Longhurst who feels so disgusted by the attacks on benefits that he is making a stand.

Nottingham City Council make 20% cut to council tax benefits

The Scrap the Tax, Defend Council Tax Benefits campaign group were out today campaigning against the 25 Million in cuts to services & benefits.

Residents in the city who are on welfare now face a 20% cut to the Council Tax Benefits they receive. This is roughly £250 a year that people on low incomes and the unemployed in very little benefits will have to find to pay council tax. It is unacceptable that the council should chose to impose these cuts on the residents of Nottingham, especially those who rely on welfare.

Becci Heagney was interviewed
by East Midlands Today
reporter Quentin  Rayner.

Once again the low wage earners and unemployed will be hard hit again after one round of benefit cuts at 8.5% last year, this cut of 20% comes at a time when the Council has increased the rent on its housing stock by more than 17%, these cuts to benefits coupled with the increase in Rent and Council Tax is unacceptable and it is putting people who are already hard hit in to even more hardship unnecessarily.

Nottingham City Council has more than enough reserves to bridge the gap yet they have decided to do the Tories dirty work and have made cuts in welfare benefits. Anyone can become unemployed at any time and may need to access a welfare benefits system that no longer provides the support when needed.

In the cuts to services, the council announced that 76 posts will close to save money, this is at a time where the council have also in the same breath announced that they have taken on 50 apprentices. 

©2014,BBC East Midlands Today.

The Scrap the Tax, Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign group are holding their next meeting on the 18th March 2014 @ 7pm at the Chase Neighbourhood Centre in St Anns. The meeting is open to anyone who wishes to attend and offers support and information for those who are suffering because of the Bedroom Tax and Council Tax Benefit cuts.

Meeting on 4th Feb

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

Response to Social Landlords by Campaign Group

Nottingham Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign response to Evictions Prevention Protocol

Nottingham City Council, Nottingham City Homes, Nottingham Community Housing Association and ASRA Housing Group have signed up to an “Eviction Prevention Protocol” to prevent evictions caused by the Bedroom Tax.

Nottingham Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign opposes this protocol because:

• It will not prevent evictions.
• It does not offer anything to tenants which they could not access anyway.
• It sets up tenants to be blamed when evictions occur.
• It abandons tenants who don’t “engage” when they may be the most vulnerable.
• It uses vague terms such as “engaging” with housing providers and “realistic and affordable.” payment plans, without explaining who defines these terms and what they mean (ie. what is expected from tenants).
• It puts too much emphasis on Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs), which are temporary, limited, and discretionary.
• It presents the issue of financial hardship caused by the Bedroom Tax as an issue of budgeting, rather than the real issue, which is that people can only avoid rent arrears by using money which is meant for food, fuel, bills, clothes.  This implies that if eviction occurs it is the tenant’s fault.

The protocol says housing providers will request a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) for every tenant suffering financial hardship who “engages” with tenancy sustainment teams. 

• The term “engaging” is not explained. What exactly is expected of tenants, and who decides whether tenants are “engaging” or not? Many tenants affected by the Bedroom Tax are some of the most vulnerable people in society, who may lack the support to be able to deal with the additional stress caused by the Bedroom Tax.
• Tenants are already free to request DHPs themselves or through advice agencies and there is no guarantee that requesting a DHP will mean a tenant will receive one. Some tenants have received a DHP in repect of bedroom tax arrears while others have been refused. Furthermore, DHPs are temporary so tenants have to apply repeatedly with all the uncertainty that entails.

The agreement states that Credit Union accounts which help tenants to prioritise rent and other bills are also being offered to tenants facing court action. 

• All tenants are already free to open Credit Union accounts – at a cost of 50p per month – so the agreement is not offering anything new.
• The protocol states that affected tenants will be expected to set up and keep to an affordable payment plan.
• A tenant in Bedroom Tax arrears faces a weekly demand for rent which they cannot afford. The protocol does not explain how such a tenant would suddenly be able to afford a payment plan to pay off their bedroom tax debt.
• The protocol does not acknowledge that arrears would continue to accumulate since the bedroom tax is ongoing and that this would lead to eviction. 

The protocol does not acknowledge the extreme emotional and monetary hardship being experienced by those households who are not yet in arrears. Households can only pay bedroom tax by cutting down on food, fuel, transport, clothes etc.  We know of households who are experiencing extreme hardship and poverty – the protocol does not address this.

By emphasising budgeting, priorities and advice the protocol implies that bedroom tax arrears is caused by tenants’ inability to budget and lack of information. This is clearly not the case. Arrears are caused by tenants being asked to pay towards rent (and council tax) from living expenses meant for food, fuel, clothes, transport etc.  Budgeting solutions are unsustainable and set up tenants to fail and be blamed, putting huge pressure on households and leading to evictions. 

The social health and monetary costs of the Bedroom Tax, which are hitting vulnerable households, communities and the social housing sector, are unacceptable and unsustainable. A recent UN report says that the Bedroom Tax may be a violation of human rights, and the Labour Party have now announced that they will abolish the Bedroom Tax. In view of this, the only effective way of protecting households from eviction is for the council to use its position to implement a no evictions policy and to encourage other social housing providers to do the same.

Nottingham Defend Council Tax Benefit Campaign calls on Nottingham City Council and all Nottingham Social Housing Providers to:

• Publicly state that they will not evict anyone because of Bedroom Tax arrears.
• Recall all notices of seeking possession and eviction notices relating to bedroom tax arrears.
• Acknowledge that Bedroom Tax arrears are not caused by tenants inability to budget.
• Use all of its DHP budget (including reserves it is permitted to use) to reduce Bedroom Tax arrears (at August 2013 only one fifth of the budget had been used).

With other social landlords and campaigners persistently explain and publicise the social and monetary costs and unsustainability of the Bedroom Tax to Central Government.

Demand that Central Government take responsibility for this policy and the potential damage to the social housing sector, by demanding it makes up the shortfall in rental income to social housing providers caused by bedroom tax arrears. Demand that Central Government abolish the bedroom tax.