Letter: Council Tax Announcement Has Left Me Feeling Helpless

Published on: 1 Feb, 2017
Updated on: 1 Feb, 2017

From A Tatlow

I would like to thank Valerie Thompson for putting into writing in her letter: A Referendum On A 15% Council Tax Rise Is Moral Blackmail, all the thoughts that have been going around and around in my head.

I was so shocked by this announcement and its ramifications that I have for once sunk into a feeling of helplessness. I am a basic state pensioner having paid tax throughout my career in health and social care, but sadly I receive no private pension so my income is fixed and before long I may need social care myself.

At first I thought Mr Hodges [SCC leader] was throwing down the gauntlet to central government, to persuade them to fund social care in the same way as our health care, thus reflecting the holistic nature of our overall needs. But to take extra money from my bank account before a referendum has even taken place seems quite unprincipled to me. I feel like instructing my bank to pay no more than the current rate. We should not be used as pawns in this way.

The approximate figure of £200 p.a. more for a Band D property exactly counteracts the winter fuel allowance, so welcomed by many.