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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

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Original poster

Well done Wales! No longer sending women to prison for council tax debts

29 replies

theOtherPamAyres · 06/11/2018 21:15

Melanie Woodcock from Bridgend was sentenced to 81 days in prison for being in debt to her council. A single mother, she had lost her job and was unable to pay her council tax arrears.

Melanie put her time behind bars to good use, by reading up about legal opinions coming from academics, in cases such as hers. She went to the High Court where the judges ruled that she had been imprisoned unlawfully.

The Welsh government have announced that Welsh councils have been using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. It is a sledgehammer that affects women disproportionately. Welsh councils won't be sending debtors to prison anymore.

There are around 70 council tax debtors in prison in England, mostly women. (Scotland and Northern Ireland don't imprison debtors to councils.) Let's hope that the English councils get their act together before separating families, disrupting households that are already under stress, and punishing poverty.

A round of applause for Melanie Woodcock and her lawyers

www.criminalappeals.org.uk/news/2018/11/6/wales-trailblazes-as-it-ends-prison-sentences-for-council-tax-debts-while-england-lags-behind

OP posts:

FermatsTheorem · 06/11/2018 21:22

A round of applause from me too - I can't imagine finding the strength and fortitude to battle my way through this while in prison. What a brilliant woman Melanie is.

AncientLights · 06/11/2018 22:22

Women are also in prison for non-payment of TV Licence, I believe. I am wondering how many women are in jail for this trivial stuff. The council tax thing work in an especially evil way, in that if you miss one payment then can remove your 'privilege' of paying monthly and make you pay the whole lot in one go. But if you haven't been able to pay one month, you're hardly likely to be able to pay the whole year or what's left of it. So off you go to the slammer, no doubt to be tyrannised by the trans women in there. I just hope they don't forget their cis privileges.

LangCleg · 06/11/2018 22:26

Non-payment of TV licences comprise 1 in 10 criminal court cases in the UK.

AncientLights · 06/11/2018 22:30

So 10% of all criminal court cases are about not paying £150 or so for a TV licence? Wow.

FermatsTheorem · 06/11/2018 22:39

And three quarters of the people convicted are female.

www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/17/70_pc_tv_licensing_convictions_women/

I wonder why there's a discrepancy? Households headed by a single woman more likely to be in poverty I'm guessing.

UpstartCrow · 06/11/2018 22:41

It would be cheaper for the taxpayer to pay whatever the bill is - tv licence or council tax - than to pay hundreds of pounds every week to keep women in prison and their kids in care.

leghairdontcare · 06/11/2018 22:45

Diolch - we're very forward thinking as a nation.

AncientLights · 06/11/2018 22:49

Yes leghair I'm very impressed with Wales. If you live in poverty then the TV is very important as you can't go out for entertainment or whatever. If I found out about a local woman about to be jailed for this, I'd happily pay up for her. But by that time, no doubt the £150 would be multiplied many times by court costs etc.

MrsTerryPratcett · 07/11/2018 00:08

What a

MrsTerryPratcett · 07/11/2018 00:09

That was a star. Stupid no icons.

Rachelover40 · 07/11/2018 05:54

A real star.
Would that I could be like that, I am not only impressed, I'm in awe.

hackmum · 07/11/2018 06:27

The numbers of women in prison are tiny compared to men, and the vast majority are there for reasons directly related to poverty or abuse.

BlytheSpiritsSpirit · 07/11/2018 07:12

This is shocking. I thought debtor's prison went out in Victorian times.

Nithead · 07/11/2018 07:18

A friend of mine went to jail for a few weeks (in wales) and was telling me about an old lady in there for not paying her tv license. She was disgusted for her saying she should have been in an old people's home

MoltenLasagne · 07/11/2018 08:35

Well done Melanie Woodcock. What an appalling state of affairs that she had to do that.

From purely an economic standpoint it is ludicrous that people are being jailed for not paying council tax or the licence fee. Surely it must cost more to prosecute and jail than is owed?

Choochoothepanda · 07/11/2018 09:06

Well given that TV is not necessary to exist, there's a very very simple way of not being jailed for not having a TV licence.

Temporaryanonymity · 07/11/2018 09:10

The TV licence thing is stupid though. I pay mine by direct debit, have done for years, yet they keep writing to me to tell me that I appear to not have a licence.

I should cancel the bloody thing. We don't watch it anyway.

Anyway, back on point. Well done Wales!

Melamin · 07/11/2018 09:18

Blimey - another one here who thought that debtors prison was far in the past. What happened to all the community sentencing whatnot?

LikeDust · 07/11/2018 09:35

I wish there was more support for people in poverty - with really helpful financial advice around budgeting and increasing income, which took into account the fact the frustrations and shame of being poor can lead to bad choices like alcoholism, gambling, overspending and pretending that debts will be managed on 'a different day'.

I am not convinced the punitive approach is particularly helpful.

MrsTerryPratcett · 07/11/2018 11:57

I am not convinced the punitive approach is particularly helpful.

Depends what you are trying to achieve. If it's a scared, poor, working until they drop, too tired to read or protest working class, it's brilliant. If it's poverty reduction and a sensible way to encourage bill payment, it's really stupid.

sawdustformypony · 07/11/2018 13:37

Bridgend Magistrates' Court has since been closed. The nearest Court is at Cardiff. As sheer luck would have it, their fines court is sitting this afternoon - and every other Wednesday for that matter - and members of the public can attend.

Therefore, for those in the area with nothing else pressing and an interest in such matters - why not pop along for some first hand knowledge, especially if you think Mrs Pratchett's first option has an element of truth to it. ............(spoiler: it doesn't)

UndercoverGC · 11/11/2018 00:15

The reason why more women are convicted for non-payment of TV licence is partly because of single mums, but also because the person held responsible is whoever answers the door. Women are more likely to get up and answer an unexpected knock on the front door, because patriarchy.

MnerXX · 11/11/2018 07:34

Well done Melanie. What a ridiculous system

Choochoothepanda · 11/11/2018 20:52

Women are more likely to get up and answer an unexpected knock on the front door, because patriarchy.

Yep. Definitely the "patriarchy" forcing women to watch live television, not pay for a licence and open the front door. Amazing isn't it? It's almost like no woman anywhere has to be accountable for her actions. Feminism is marvellous

BeyondVicious · 11/11/2018 21:01

So you've never met a man who sits on his arse when he's home and expects his wife to go and answer the door? Never ever?

Do try harder 🙄

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