Politics

Gove unsympathetic to council tax poverty

Council tax poverty is on the increase in Dorset. There are now thousands of households which have to pay more than 10% of net income in council tax. This year, for some, council tax bills will reach £90 each week – over £4,500 a year out of taxed income! In the House of Commons, I asked Michael Gove, the Minister responsible, how he believed it to be either compassionate or Conservative to be increasing council tax poverty in Dorset. I also linked the problem to his failure to reform the grant funding system. The response from Michael Gove was totally unsympathetic. He said that he actually felt sorrier for people in other parts of the country because ‘the relatively wealthy and the relatively older in our country already have it relatively better’. In fairness to the Minister, he eventually agreed to meet me just before Christmas to discuss my demand that he apologise and he listened to the case for Dorset. He has agreed to look into the fact that a 5% increase impacts more heavily on those who already have some of the highest bills in the country, as we do in Dorset. I asked why the Government doesn’t adopt the same approach as it does for precepts for fire and police services where maximum increases across the country are calculated as a fixed sum per Band and not by percentage. Another point which he agreed to consider was my assessment that council tax is now, effectively, a proxy wealth tax which hits hardest those who are asset rich but income poor. It is because of this that so many households are using their savings as income so as to fund their council tax. This problem is made worse by the Government’s refusal to increase the means test threshold for capital savings beyond £16,000, the level set in 2006. That threshold would now be over £25,000 if it had increased in line with CPI inflation. The consequence is that anyone with modest savings in excess of £16,000 has to pay their council tax bill in full. I look forward to receiving Michael Gove’s considered response to these points.

n An announcement is expected this month on exactly how park home residents and others who are living in properties off the energy grid will be able to access their £400 energy support package. Not only has this been much delayed, but the payments will not be made automatically. This means that those eligible will be required to make an individual claim through a government website. That claim will then be implemented by the local council. If any residents need further information or help on this, please contact me at chopec@ parliament.uk.

Christchurch & East Dorset CHRIS CHOPE MP

Government must call for pay talks now

As we reach the end of another tumultuous year in the political life of the United Kingdom it is good to know that the dreadful handling of the NHS has been recognised by the King’s Fund in a recent report on the Conservative’s record as being due to ‘a decade of neglect... leaving it with too few staff; too little equipment, and too many outdated buildings to perform the amount of surgery needed.’ Bear in mind this is the Department of Health and Social Care’s own report, ordered just a few months ago! Embarrassing or what? The report goes on to contrast unfavourably with the tactics used by the Blair/Brown Labour Government of the late 1990s in chasing down the horrendously long waits for both care and operations at that time which that Government found on taking office in 1997. Whilst Rishi Sunak is throwing everything at the waiting times problem, it is only having a limited effect. Those 10 years of Tory/Lib. Dem ‘austerity’ have come back to bite him! Sunak would be entitled to quietly curse David Cameron and Theresa May. With the NHS cracking up under the strain of the Covid epidemic it has to be said that those years of neglect together with loss of staff through ‘burn-out’, return of staff to Europe following Brexit, together with the huge deficiency of nursing and doctoral staff due to this Tory government’s inability to recruit and train enough staff has led to this current impasse with the administration - and is it small wonder that the bubble has burst over the ridiculous

Dorset Labour ALAN CROSS

pay offer made by the so-called ‘independent’ pay review body. This is a fight this government is totally unable to win. They should call for pay talks with the unions now as this dispute shows signs of becoming nasty... and let’s not forget the nurses are the ‘darlings and heroes’ of the Covid days of two years ago and polls show there is still overwhelming support for this strike. Rishi Sunak says we cannot keep inflation down with such pay deals being done. I say without upping the pay offer already on the table there will be no NHS left. This is a pretty weak argument from this government stuffed full of billionaires and millionaires and given the billions of pounds that were lost in rotten PPE deals for Covid and the £40billion lost by the disastrous Liz Truss/ Kwasi Kwarteng short-lived premiership. So, roll on 2023 when we will be getting closer than ever to the next Labour government, this time under Keir Starmer’s control. A Happy New Year to all our readers.

Gas prices fall, yet households pay more

People seem to fall into two camps with their opinions on New Years’ Resolutions. Whether you think they are a waste of time or rethink your whole life as the clock strikes midnight, the turning of the year is as good a time as any to think about hopes for the future. As I watched the latest Prime Minister address the nation with a new year message about being proud of the country, expecting fairness and having hope for the future, many of us were sitting wondering whether the lights on our Christmas Tree or the increased use of the oven would make it more difficult than usual to pay our January bills. I had a complete shock seeing my own energy bill double in December. I put it down to children home from Uni (extra loads of washing and very long showers). Plus, we had that extended cold snap, shorter days and watched more TV over Christmas. I am lucky. I can find the money for what I hope is a midwinter blip, but many people cannot. It’s crazy that as the energy market is increasingly powered by renewable sources and wholesale gas prices are falling, prices for hard-pressed households continue to rise. The Conservative government has given help over the winter, but for high energy users – including those with disabilities, the frail and those in older or rented homes which are typically less well insulated – this is a drop in the ocean. They belatedly adopted the Windfall Tax, first proposed by Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey in January 2022, but it still lets oil and gas firms off the hook. The tax - officially the Energy Profit Levy - only applies to UK oil and gas extraction, not profits from refining or selling fuel at the pumps. It also brings in a ‘super-deduction’ tax break when profits are invested in

Dorset Lib-Dems VIKKI SLADE

MORE fossil fuel extraction, worth 91p in the pound. This allows Conservative MPs to talk about the generous support they are giving, whilst knowing that profits in oil and gas company are rising still higher. If the Prime Minister genuinely believes in fairness and hope, he must urgently reform the Windfall Tax. As suggested by the Liberal Democrats, it should be broadened to cover all profits and linked to a programme of home insulation. This will lower bills by reducing the need for heat and decrease the carbon footprint of every home. It will also create green jobs in every community. The super-deduction should be limited to investment in renewables infrastructure so we speed up the transition to green energy and the Government should reform the energy market so that consumers – including businesses –benefit when wholesale prices reduce. A New Year allows us to reset, rethink and make a real difference. There is so much this government must do to restore trust, bring hope, and improve lives but this is a good place to start directly benefitting homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals while expecting those who are accidentally profiting to carry a larger burden. May I wish you and yours a happy and healthy New Year.

Town civic society launches evening meetings programme

Wimborne Civic Society’s evening meetings with visiting speakers from January to March are open to all, and are held at 8pm on the third Tuesday of the month in the Quarterjack Room of the Allendale Centre. The next meeting will take place on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, when Charlie North-Lewis will be talking about ‘The History of the Tivoli Theatre’. Charlie has been the general manager of Wimborne’s beautiful art deco theatre for several years and knows the place and its history very well. He is an entertaining and experienced speaker. On Tuesday, February 21, members and guests will be able to hear about ‘The Buildings of Wiltshire, rewriting Pevsner’, when Julian Orbach will be giving a fully-illustrated address. Julian is an accomplished architectural historian and spent some years thoroughly revising Nikolaus Pevsner’s 1960s volume in the wonderful ‘Buildings of England’ series of guides. He is an engaging speaker and has a wide range of slides of Wiltshire buildings, some well-known, others quite a surprise. By way of a contrast, on Tuesday, March 21, Don Nutt will speak about ‘Pirates, Castaways and Codfish’. Don is a Poole Bay Rotarian and a local historian, and will be unveiling the significance of his intriguing title on the day; it’s reasonable to assume that it’s something to do with the port of Poole and its colourful history. Both members and non-members are most welcome to attend for a modest entry fee of £1 for members or £3 for visitors. You are welcome to join the Society at any meeting; subscriptions cost £10 for a year’s membership for an individual, or £15 for a couple.

Green transport option on the up

Forty per cent of people who use Beryl Bikes or scooters in the BCP council area say the green transport option has helped them reduce car usage in 2022. The figures represent a 26 per cent rise on last year and are part of a survey of more than 1,000 riders in the BCP area. Researchers also discovered that the number of people who are using their Beryl ride to connect with public transport has doubled to 50 per cent, up from 25 per cent in 2021, with convenience given as the most important reason for doing this. The average distance of those journeys are less than 2.5km, showing, says Beryl, the increasing importance of bikeshare as an option for the first and last mile journeys. Beryl CEO and co-founder, Phil Ellis, said: “Our findings this year are reflective of external factors and show that, in line with rising cost of living, people are recognising the value of shared micromobility schemes as a more cost-effective, practical and convenient alternative to private vehicle ownership.” BCP’s portfolio holder for sustainability and transport, Mike Greene, said: “Leaving the car at home and picking up a bike, e-bike or e-scooter is now becoming more and more established as a practical, easy way to get around Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.”