Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
More than 2.5 million working age people across England claimed a discount on their council tax between April and June this year - the highest number since records began in 2015.
The Local Government Association said this number is expected to have risen further over the summer and may continue to rise in future years due to the knock-on economic fall-out from the pandemic.
New analysis estimates hat the cost of the increased claimant numbers of council tax support due to coronavirus in 2020/21 could be at least £586 million. Council leaders are warning that rising numbers of families on low incomes are likely to face bigger council tax bills unless government fully funds the record demand for council tax support as part of the Spending Review.
Local council tax support has provided those on low incomes with a discount on their council tax since 2013 when the national benefit was abolished. However, the funding government has given to councils to fund these schemes has reduced by around half - £2 billion – between 2013 and 2020.
Even before the pandemic exacerbated demand pressures, councils already faced an unpalatable choice between charging council tax to the working-age poor, who in many cases may not have paid council tax before or diverting limited resources from other under-pressure services to pay for discounts.
Richard Watts, chair of the Local Government Association’s Resources Board, said: “Councils know how tough things are for many people as a result of Covid-19 and are desperate to protect those affected the most. The sharp rise in council tax support claimants is heaping further pressure on this already underfunded vital local safety net. No one wants to ask those on the lowest incomes to pay more but councils have faced an impossible position that the pandemic has made worse.
“The government must ensure councils have the full amount of funding required to provide council tax support to those who need it. Otherwise, it is almost inevitable that bills will continue to be forced up for those who can least afford to pay.”
Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
Fireco is a one-stop shop for trusted and compliant fire safety solutions! Our comprehensive product range includes smart fire door closers and retainers, notification systems, as well as fire door installation and inspection services. With our cloud-based technology, we offer the convenience of remote monitoring and management of connected devices, ensuring efficient and effective fire safety measures. By choosing Fireco, you can trust that our solutions are tailored to meet complex compliance requirements and provide you with peace of mind.
UKREiiF has quickly become a must-attend in the industry calendar for Government departments and local authorities.
The organisers of the world’s largest dedicated hydrogen event, World Hydrogen 2024 Summit & Exhibition have announced it’s return to Rotterdam in May 2024, with an expansion of a whole extra summit day. Sustainable Energy Council (SEC) are partnering with the Government of the Netherlands, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the City of Rotterdam, and the Port of Rotterdam to host an extended, larger scale Summit in 2024, to expand the event to meet the surging demand.
At GeoEnergy Design, we're on a mission to disrupt the traditional way heating and cooling ha
Professor Harith Alani, director of the Knowledge Management Institute at the Open University explains how AI can be used for good and bad.
Alex Lawrence, head of health & social care, techUK sets out techUK’s Five Point Plan for CareTech.