Abolishing single person CT discount

I wouldn't be surprised if this is introduced. Single parents would probably get an exemption as Labour won't want to be seen to be worsening child poverty.

No government cares about single people - it's all "hard-working families" etc.

If you are single with kids you are not a single occupier! Single person discount is for houses where one person lives! And yes, you should pay less than the family of four next door. All utilities should have a single person discount- sole occupiers proportionately pay far more for everything than people in a family.

@Scandiviews1 referring to the PM as ‘2Tier’ tells me a lot about you and your political position and values. Could you explain exactly what you mean by the name?

Why not go by what they have said rather than whether they discounted a wild rumour emphatically enough for you?
Apologies for saying the transcript was on this thread, it was on another, similar one. This is what was said:
Kemi Badenoch asked Angela Rayner: “It’s been reported that the Secretary of State is being lobbied to increase council tax and remove discounts like the single occupant discount Will she take this opportunity to reassure the House that the Government has no plans to increase council tax as they assured us before the election?”
Ms Rayner replied: “Yes.”

As she was asked about both in the question by KB and replied with a single word answer, she has answered both parts. Trying to suggest otherwise is scaremongering.

Ive seen what the pensions and benefits are in the public sector. Underwritten by the tax payer. Lucky them compared to the private sector.

My main quibble is that 2 Tier seems to be targeting certain groups to bear the pain. Groups that traditionally don't vote Labour. And rewarding other groups that support Labour. THE BLACK HOLE is repeatedly cited by Rachel Reeves on one hand to justify cuts against pensioners in particular, yet on the other hand bumper payrises are given to the non productive public sector notwithstanding THE BLACK HOLE. Interestingly where I live about 50% of working people are employed by the state. That's a nice little voting base for Labour..they aren't going to vote against their own interests so I can see why 2 Tier is bribing them with nice fat payrises. It's hard to swallow though if you ever believed in Labour being for the poor and vulnerable in society. Although I never believed that.

Seems a waste of time raising wages only to then increase cost of living even more. They might get a pay rise but that's wiped out by higher council tax and housing costs. Wouldn't it be better to lower the cost of living instead? That would also be fairer as it would include low income pensioners, the disabled, and low waged private sector employees.

Returning briefly to my post about London. I just realised the added slap in the face for council tax payers there. Outside of Wandsworth and Westminster, many London boroughs (as I know from friends in London) have high council tax. Yet when people who've been paying that council tax need help from council services, i.e. housing, they're socially cleansed out. So they've basically paid for something they're not getting.

I was wondering how so many people had missed that? It’s in the Hansard.

I didn’t say people wouldn’t be disadvantaged. I also think the public sector stuff is such a red herring, it’s been rattling on for years and does anyone remember Boris making all manner of promises about rewarding key workers after the pandemic which never were realised? I don’t think that Labour making good on that is a problem, I worked in the NHS for ten years and remember only too well year on year pay freezes despite the cost of living rising. I still know plenty of people working in the public sector who earn very little, do not have gold-plated pension pots and go above and beyond to keep the plates spinning, both in the NHS and local government.

Why don’t you wait for the actual announcements before getting your knickers in a twist.

There's also a huge difference in provision and quality of services across the country. I know from friends in London that London councils are particularly bad.

Wandsworth isn't a good example for London. Together with Westminster it prides itself on having the lowest council tax in the UK. Other London boroughs have much higher council tax. There's also the massive issue of social cleansing in London. Low council tax in Wandsworth, yes, but high levels of inequality within the area, and some London councils (maybe including Wandsworth?) ship vulnerable homeless people out of area, often far from family and their jobs (many homeless people are in work).

Re inequality within an area. Here's an example. London pensioners are statistically the poorest pensioners in the UK.

You're right though about the unfair regional variation. Single people on minimum wage or disability benefits or an elderly person on a modest pension in a rented 1 bedroom flat in London or the SE is often in a higher band, than an affluent higher earner or double income household owner occupier with a 3 bedroom house in another part of the UK.

The discount might be changed that is all. Anything else I suspect is speculation.

As for the Daily Mail, one of their historic favourites ended up being a large landlord in later life.

No, she confirmed that Labour had no current plans to increase council tax but when asked to guarantee that the single person discount would not be scrapped she responded with:

"I find it astonishing that members opposite, after running down the economy in the way that they have, after the Chancellor had to come to this House to talk about the billions of pounds black hole, that they're now trying to claim that this Government is about raising taxes."

That is deflection, not confirmation that the single person discount will be protected. Not a single news report has claimed she confirmed Labour would not scrap the discount. All local and national newspapers as well as multiple newspapers channels are reporting that she refused to confirm it wouldn't be scrapped.

I agree, single person is vital for lots of single people.

Shit though that it varies so much.

There is a huge difference in council tax across the country. If you live in a band D property in Wandsworth you will pay £969 per year, a band D property in Rutland costs £2543. Plenty of people in band A properties in expensive council tax areas will feel the pinch if the single person discount is scrapped.

I’ve seen the transcript of what was said. It’s on this thread. She definitely ruled it out. She was asked a combined question about whether she rules out getting rid of this and increasing CT. She answered yes. It’s shit stirring to 8mpky she was only answering one part of the question. Trouble is, the press have got used to budget items being leaked in advance over the last 6 or 7 years and now labour aren’t doing that they are just making shit up.

I’m surprised no one has mentioned cancelling student exemption. That one has always confused me. They still use resources and in student cities it would make a huge difference.

This is a bit misleading. Councils in general have made a lot of cuts over previous years and, unlike central HMG, they must balance the books every year or declare it (ie going ‘bust’) and apply for emergency funds. Central HMG do not operate under this and can borrrow. Councils in some areas also have seen huge increase in demands for their statutory services without matching increasing financial settlements.

Not saying that Councils are flush or that some have not made financial errors, but your statement doesn’t quite follow in singling them out alone.

As a disabled parent of disabled children living in an A rated inner city flat, it's been really helpful to have lower council tax. Those who are better off will live in a higher rated home and pay more.

It's not the DM stirring the pot. Angela Rayner was asked about it, in parliament, on Monday and refused to rule out scrapping the single person discount. Councils are also asking the government to scrap the 5% cap on annual increases.

It's being reported in multiple newspapers. This does not mean it will happen just that Angela Rayner refused to say it wouldn't.

https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/money/council-tax-discount-pensioners-single-parents-hammer-blow-3257955

Per adult has already been tried. It was called the Poll Tax.

All this does it pit people against each other.

I'm single I live on my own. I pay 25% less than the couple with a child in the same block who use more services than me.

Personally I think it should be a 50% discount but I know that wouldn't be popular.

Because we're already running a household on one income?
So say council tax is £100. That's £50 each for a couple (or less depending on how many adults living there)
A single person would pay £75, but you think they should pay £100 because "they use the same amount of services"
So they get to pay twice?

There are groups favoured by Labour (public sector workers who are already paid handsomely with huge pension pots, unions etc) who will get pay rises, and groups that will bear the brunt in order to pay those payrises (pensioners, the private sector, savers). There's no two ways about it and it's a shaky old start by Labour.

There’s no war on anyone - I actually find the whole ‘war on’ rhetoric fairly distasteful given there are six armed conflicts going on the world - this is a new government having to make unpopular decisions based on the mismanaged finances of the former government. But it is true to say that, as with most changes the money in people’s pockets that women and people who are more vulnerable disproportionately feel the impact of these changes.

If Labour do bring in this change, and there is no evidence that they will, and if it applies to me (e.g. if there is an income threshold), then I will just get on with it and not blame Labour for trying to address the country’s massive debt. It would seem at odds with their view on devolution of power across the UK were they do to so however…

Difficult decisions definitely need to be made although I personally haven't drunk the Kool Aid on the BLACK HOLE. I'd suggest not giving 15% payrise to public sector train drivers who are already very well paid would have been a better decision than fleecing pensioners but presumably as the government is in the pocket of the unions I feel that being fair is probably too much of a difficult decision for them.