Media Notice: Council Tax Protest — Tottenham Magistrates Court, Thurs 4 August 2016

Guest blog post from Revd Paul Nicolson of Taxpayers Against Poverty

MEDIA NOTICE, 

Rev Paul Nicolson

07961 177 889

COUNCIL TAX PROTEST WITH THE REV PAUL NICOLSON 10 am 4TH AUGUST

The liability order hearing on the 15th June was adjourned to the 4th August at 10 am at Tottenham Magistrates Court, London N17 6RT. Tottenham Magistrates Court, London N17 6RT.

I am refusing to pay the council tax as an act of civil disobedience against laws passed by national and local government which are damaging the health and well being of residents who claim benefits in Haringey, and throughout the UK. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has recorded ever declining well-being among the UK population since 2010 and then increasing deaths.

I have been summoned to a liability order hearing at Tottenham Magistrates Court.

I am saying that Haringey council uses a careless interpretation of strict regulations, which does not give due regard to the dire circumstances or health of vulnerable residents, when setting the level of council tax enforcement costs, and which the council is awarded "blind" by Tottenham magistrates 1000s at a time and over 20,000 times a year.

Some Tottenham wards in the London Borough of Haringey have among the highest rates of low birthweight in the UK and record the shortest life expectancy in the UK.

I am awaiting the answers to the following Parliamentary Questions asked by Baroness Hollins following my letter to the new Prime Minister

Rev Paul Nicolson 

18th July 2016. 

Q

Asked by Baroness Hollins

Asked on: 13 July 2016

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

HL1171

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cumulative impact of housing benefit cuts, benefit caps and council tax on the health of benefit claimants, both those in work and unemployed, since 2008, taking into account the impact of debt on mental health and the need for women to receive a healthy diet before they conceive and while they are pregnant if they are to give birth to healthy babies.

Q

Asked by Baroness Hollins

Asked on: 13 July 2016

Department of Health

Health: Poverty

HL1172

​​

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made, or are planning to make, of the cost to the health service of poverty-related ill health.

​PLEASE HELP FUND TAP

It is now possible to sign up as members for our email list on the TAP website using the "JOIN" panel without contributing funds and to fund us without joining. Some people prefer to follow on twitter and Facebook but not on email. 

Those of us who can afford to fund TAP are supporting those who cannot. We need to raise £50,000 a year. 

When you can please sign up for a monthly payment. 

​

​or you can send a cheque to;

Tapayers Against Poverty Ltd,

​ 

93 Campbell Road, Tottenham, London N17 0BF

or pay into Taxpayers Against Poverty Ltd a/c at

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Branch sort code;40-06-20

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Account Number; 71664603

from the Reverend Paul Nicolson

Taxpayers Against Poverty

No citizen without an affordable home and an 

adequate income in work or unemployment. 

93 Campbell Road, Tottenham, London N17 0BF, 0208 3765455, 07961 177889, 

https://www.facebook.com/Taxpayers-Against-Poverty-299911526728884/

https://twitter.com/taxpayers_a_p www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk, 

www.z2k.org, www.prohousingalliance.com

Placards in support of Revd Paul Nicolson's Council Tax defiance against LB Haringey

As stated elsewhere on this blog, Revd Paul Nicolson appears at Tottenham Magistrates Court on Wednesday 15 June at 10am over his conscience-led refusal to pay Council Tax. This is because Haringey Council has not properly borne in mind the payer's ability to pay.

Here are a few placard designs in support of Revd Paul Nicolson's case.

Haringey has not done its sums right!

Q: How are Haringey like Wonga?

Build Homes, Not Evictions!

Bailiff teams are fireing squads for the likes of us

After the Tienanmen Square revolt, demonstrators were killed by firing squad and their families charged with the cost of the bullets used. Similarly in the UK, people evicted have often been charged for the 'service' provided by the bailiffs to evict them. Revd Paul Nicolson has written against the unfairness of bailiff charges.

Links
Unfairness of bailiff charges https://uk.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A7x9UnElilpX538AqZR3Bwx.;_ylc=X1MDMjExNDcxNzU1OQRfcgMyBGZyA3locy1hdmFzdC1icndzcjAwMQRncHJpZANHNzFxeUx1bFF2YXVqbU5hQzlFd3RBBG5fcnNsdAMwBG5fc3VnZwMwBG9yaWdpbgN1ay5zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcwMwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzc5BHF1ZXJ5A2JhaWxpZmZzJTIwaGFyaW5nZXklMjBzaXRlJTNBJTIwaHR0cCUzQSUyRiUyRnd3dy50YXhwYXllcnNhZ2FpbnN0cG92ZXJ0eS5vcmcudWsEdF9zdG1wAzE0NjU1NTIwMTc-?p=bailiffs+haringey+site%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fwww.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk&fr2=sb-top-uk.search&hspart=avast&hsimp=yhs-brwsr001&type=osf01s1

Supreme Court decision on LB Haringey's Council Tax consultation — 29 October decision date

MEDIA NOTICE

Rev Paul Nicolson 

07961177889 - 02083765455

SUPREME COURT DECISION DUE ON WEDNESDAY 29TH OCTOBER 

This case was kicked off by a telephone call to lawyers from The Rev Paul Nicolson, a resident of Haringey, on behalf of Taxpayers Against Poverty. I was concerned that one of the alternatives to the draft council tax reduction scheme, about which the 2012 consultation took place, did not include was the option of increasing the average band D by 86 pence a week which would have kept the 100% benefit for low income households in work and unemployment. 

We now have the unfair 20% of council tax on benefits, which takes away with one hand what has been given with the other, on top of the 1% freeze, the bedroom tax, rent due to cuts in housing benefit, increasing rents and the escalating prices of food and domestic fuel. 

On top of that  imposition on the lowest incomes in the borough the Magistrates imposed £125 costs on 27,882 households in 2013/14, the first year benefits were taxed. The bailiffs then add to the impossible debts a minimum of £75 and another £235 for a visit. 

Those £125 costs are now subject to judicial review in Nicolson v Tottenham Magistrates & Haringey Council. The High Court leave was given on the 7th October. 

NB. the council tax reduction scheme (CTRS) devised by local authorities replaced the council tax benefit (CTB) administered by central government in the Local Government Finance Act 2012. 

In Haringey 20% of council tax was imposed on benefit claimants in work and unemployment from April 2013.  

Article from Local Government Lawyer Supreme Court to hand down key ruling next week on consultations

Thursday, 23 October 2014 14:07

The Supreme Court is expected to hand down next week (29 October) a key ruling on the proper approach to consultations. The case of R (on the application of Moseley (in substitution of Stirling) v London Borough of Haringey specifically considered consultations conducted under the Local Government Finance Act 1992 in respect of proposed ‘council tax reduction schemes. These schemes were introduced to replace council tax benefit. The appeal considered whether a fair consultation required that consultees be informed not just of the proposals of the local authority, but also of the reasons for the proposals. It also considered whether consultees should be given sufficient information to enable them to critically examine the thinking that led to the proposals. The case arose out of Haringey’s consultation upon its council tax reduction scheme. The Government subsequently announced a Transitional Grant Scheme (TGS) but the authority adopted its council tax reduction scheme without re-consultation. Haringey argued that the Transitional Grant Scheme did not affect the draft scheme. The local authority won in both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in February 2013. Before the Supreme Court, the appellant argued that the consultation process was unfair and unlawful because: Consultees had not been provided with sufficient information to understand that there were alternatives to the draft scheme; and Haringey should have re-consulted when the Transitional Grant Scheme was announced. A five-justice panel of the Supreme Court – comprising Lady Hale, Lord Kerr, Lord Clarke, Lord Wilson and Lord Reed – heard the case on 19 June.

--

Rev Paul Nicolson

Taxpayers Against Poverty

93 Campbell Road, 

Tottenham, 

London N17 0BF

0208 3765455

07961 177889

also at www.z2k.org 

also at www.prohousingalliance.com

www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk

www.facebook.com/pages/Taxpayers-Against-Poverty/299911526728884

https://twitter.com/taxpayers_a_p

Unite Community events in and around London, early October 2014

From Unite the Union Community Section, London

Below are some of the events Unite Community members are involved with over the coming weeks. We are putting together a paper newsletter.

As always, it is great to see the developing work of Unite Community activists, that we are leading on or supporting in the wider movement, whether on Social Security, Housing, the NHS, TTIP and Mental Health. Please get in touch with Pilgrim and Robin if you want to get more involved or get things going in your area.

This month is Black History Month and attached is schedule of events that have been organised by The London and Eastern Region of Unite

Have a good weekend,

Pilgrim Tucker, Robin Sivapalan and Tony Winchester

Robin and Pilgrim can be contacted postally at
Unite Community Coordinator
Ron Todd House
33-37 Moreland Street
London EC1V 8BB
Tel: 020 8800 4281

 

Support Rev Paul Nicolson at the High Court: Legal challenge vs extortionate court costs added to Council Tax bills

Tuesday 7 October, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand (off Kingsway), London WC2A 2LL

9.30am -- Vigil outside

10.30am – one-hour court hearing. The more of us the judges see in the public gallery, the better!

Rev Paul Nicolson of Taxpayers Against Poverty is valiantly refusing to pay his Council Tax to Haringey, and is ready to go to jail because he objects to the poorest people being unfairly targeted.  This hearing seeks a judicial review of the Tottenham magistrates who repeatedly refused to tell him at his council tax hearing in August 2013, how they arrived at £125 costs for a summons to late and non-payers of council tax. (Swheatie adds: for more info on this, see Revd Paul Nicolson's Taxpayers Against Poverty blog posting Tottenham Magistrates asleep on the job...)

Sanctions Centres or Job Centres?: Day of Action, part of the Boycott Workfare Week of Action

The Unite Community Job Centre activists group agreed to hold a day of action on Wednesday 8^th October at different Job Centres — postcode link text gives links to map locations:

So far we have confirmed:

Barnsbury Job Centre, 1 Barnsbury Road, N1 0EX: 11am-1pm

Hendon Job Centre, Crown Building. 10 Finchley Lane, NW4 1DP: 9am – 3pm

North Kensington Job Centre, Quayside House Kensal Road, W10 5BL: 12pm-1pm & 3pm-4pm

Walthamstow Job Centre, Dansom House 656a Forest Road, E17 3SH: 9am-11am

Wood Green Job Centre, Granta House 1 Western Road, N22 6UU: 9am-12pm

The next Job Centre activists’ meeting is at 3pm, Tuesday 7^th October, Unite regional office, 37-39 Moreland Street, London EC1V 8BB. Materials for the day of action can be collected from there. If you want to set up a protest/leafleting on sanctions at your job centre, please get in touch with Robin on 07860 955 361 / robin.sivapalan@unitetheunion.org

For details of other events during the Boycott Workfare Week of Action see http://www.boycottworkfare.org/?p=3736

No to MPIPM

The No to MPIPM public meeting on 16^th of September at Unite HQ was a great event, attended by representatives of dozens of live housing campaigns in London and beyond. Our Unite Regional Secretary Pete Kavanagh spoke, committing Unite’s support to the campaign. There’s a lot to be done to organise and promote the actions and events Wednesday 15^th October -1 Friday 17^th October. Please contact Robin if you want to get involved. The latest newsletter from the Radical Housing Network can be found here, including an update on the inspiring E15 Mothers campaign on the Carpenters Estate:   

http://us8.campaign-archive1.com/?u=9aa3abe72ff7ca4ad4f1cb9cc&id=143f17fda8&e=c86250a409

Student Workers:

We will be launching an initiative for our student-worker Unite Community members at the RHB Cinema, Goldsmiths University at 6pm, Thursday October 16^th.

Initially we will be training student-worker members in basic employment rights advice and will be holding weekly drop in sessions for student-workers based in campuses in NW, Central and SE London.

Speakers include;

Owen Jones (Author)

Pete Kavanagh (Regional Unite Secretary)

Shelly Asquith (President of SU Arts)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1558709464350952/