26 September 2003
Pensioner groups have given only a lukewarm response to local authority proposals to tie their council tax increases to the rate of inflation.
Kent County Council is proposing to take advantage of new powers in the Local Government Act and peg pensioner increases to inflation, with other council taxpayers making up the difference.
Nick Chard, Cabinet member for finance at Kent, told Public Finance that the council was still working on the fine detail but was, in principle, likely to implement the change for next year.
Hampshire is thinking along similar lines and has written to the deputy prime minister suggesting a discounted rate for pensioners with the shortfall being met by central government. Council leader Ken Thornber described the current rate of council tax increases as 'unsustainable' and urged the government to 'cushion the blow' for the poorest people.
But Albert Venison of the Devon Pensioners' Action Forum, one of the most vocal pressure groups, said proposals such as Kent's failed to address the issue.
'The only problem with [Kent's proposal] is that other people will have to pay more. The government is not prepared to pick up the shortfall,' he said.
Neil Duncan-Jordan, spokesman for the National Pensioners' Convention, added: 'It is good that councils are recognising that the high level of council tax is affecting pensioners, but neither of these proposals addresses the fact that pensioners need more money to live on.'
Protests over pensioner income have flared up in recent months and council tax hikes, which have outstripped pension increases, are seen as particularly unfair.
Since April, members of the Devon Pensioners' Action Forum have been paying only a 1.7% increase on last year's rate, as opposed to the 18.1% increase imposed by the council. Members say they are prepared to go to prison if necessary.
Chard said Kent's proposal was an interim measure until the government's balance of funding review was concluded but showed that councils could lead the way in being responsive to the needs of the populations they served.
'This is a classic example of local government consulting people and listening to what they have to say and actually doing something about it,' he told PF.
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