Latest news with #AnnaDixon
Telegraph
8 hours ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Labour rejects own MP's calls for council tax exemption on retirement homes
Labour has rejected calls from its own MP to grant council tax exemptions for families struggling to sell inherited retirement homes. Anna Dixon, MP for Shipley, urged the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – the government department headed by Angela Rayner – to give grieving relatives more time to sell up retirement properties before being hit with the second home council tax premium. It comes after The Telegraph drew attention to the double taxes being charged on 'impossible to sell' inherited retirement homes. These properties are designed for people aged 55 and over, and can only be sold to people in that age bracket, meaning they can take years to sell. They also come with hefty service charges, and typically depreciate in value, making them unattractive to buyers. From April 1, all local authorities in England were given the powers to charge 100pc council tax premiums on second homes in their region. However, if an owner puts their home on the market, they can escape the charge for 12 months. If they are not sold in this time period, the charge is reapplied. In a parliamentary question, Ms Dixon asked Ms Rayner if she will 'extend the time limit on exceptions to council tax premiums to cover the full period for which a property is being actively marketed for sale for (a) long-term empty homes, (b) second homes and (c) leasehold retirement properties'. Jim McMahon, housing minister, said the Government had 'no plans to change the exceptions to the council tax premiums'. 'Inflexibility and obstinacy' Retirement properties boomed in popularity during the 1980s, and remained attractive well into the early 2000s. As of 2019, there were 730,000 retirement housing units in the UK, according to the Elderly Accommodation Counsel. However, in recent years, their appeal has dramatically waned as complaints mounted among those early buyers. This is due to their hefty service charges, which are payable whether or not the property is lived in. According to Hamptons, one in 10 retirement flats takes more than a year to sell. The Telegraph has heard from dozens of families who have inherited the 'impossible to sell' properties, and are now being hit with double council tax, costing some people thousands of pounds. Kevin Hollinrake, shadow housing minister, said: 'Labour should be actively reviewing how the new regime is working in practice. 'Their refusal to even consider extending the exemption for retirement properties shows a shocking disregard for bereaved families. 'These homes are notoriously hard to sell, and this tax burdens grieving families with unexpected and often unaffordable bills at one of the most difficult times in their lives.' Dennis Reed, of senior citizens charity Silver Voices, said: 'This inflexibility and obstinacy by the Government flies in the face of fairness and equity. A hard to sell flat in a retirement complex is clearly not a second home unless a member of the family is living there. 'All the reasons for second home premiums do not apply in such circumstances, and Labour should be showing some empathy to those who have lost a loved one.' A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: 'It is for councils to determine whether to apply a premium on the council tax bills of second homes. 'Councils can opt to add up to 100pc extra on the council tax bills of second homes to help local leaders protect their communities.'
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ministers ‘oblivious' to UK's scale of violence against women and girls, say MPs
Ministers appear to be 'oblivious' to the true scale of harm caused by violence against women and girls and must do more to 'reverse the worrying rise in misogyny', MPs have said. Parliament's cross-party public accounts committee heard evidence that women's refuges are forced to turn down 65% of requests for support amid soaring cases, while other dedicated services operating in communities are only able to help about half of those who request it. Highlighting figures that show at least one in 12 women each year are affected by violence and one in five recorded crimes relate to violence against women and girls, the committee said the Home Office's way of monitoring prevalence did not include all types of crime. The MPs also say it is a 'particular concern' that in spite of evidence that the age range of those most likely to become a victim or perpetrator of sexual violence is between 11 and 20, the Home Office does not include under-16s in its information gathering. Launching the government's promise to halve incidents of violence against women and girls within a decade last year, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said 'our mission is for the whole of government, agencies, organisations and communities to work together'. But commenting on the findings, committee member Anna Dixon said: 'While it was welcome to hear of recent efforts to better coordinate action across departments, officials' evidence caused alarm bells to ring. 'On some types of harm, government appears to be oblivious to the true scale and there remains scant evidence or learning from what is working locally. 'It is vital that the Home Office seizes this opportunity to lead and coordinate strong action across departments to ensure victims and survivors have access to the services and support they need and deserve, and that as a society we reverse the worrying rise in misogyny.' The committee also said the government's approach lacked an emphasis on prevention measures that it said were necessary to achieve long-term change. In addition, the MPs called for clarity on how work with boys would be undertaken to 'prevent harmful attitudes perpetuating', and how the safety of young people online would be improved. The committee added: 'The Department for Education needs to step up and take a more proactive approach given the proliferation of misogynistic attitudes across social media platforms, and their influence on young men and boys, highlighted by the [committee] as a key area in need of attention. 'The increase in the number of cases reported to the Revenge Porn Helpline from 521 to 22,000 in just nine years, serves to highlight the evolving nature of [violence against women and girls]. 'The [committee] fears this is symptomatic of a wider issue across a range of departments who appear to have limited understanding of the scale of the challenges they face in addressing this issue.' In a series of recommendations, the MPs called on the Home Office to outline how all departments would be held to account for their contributions to tackling the issue. The minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, Jess Phillips, said: 'As part of our ambitious pledge to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, we have already put domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in the first five forces, introduced new domestic abuse protection orders in select areas, and set out a clear process for police to release information about online stalkers. 'Our new violence against women and girls strategy, coming this summer, will take a cross-government approach with prevention at its heart – to better protect victims, support their journey to justice and hold perpetrators to account.'
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Grim report raises concerns over Labour's vow to cut violence against women
The Commons' Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cast doubt over Labour's ability to achieve its pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade Efforts to tackle violence against women and girls are focusing too much on reacting to crimes instead of preventing them, MPs have warned. The Commons' Public Accounts Committee (PAC) cast doubt over Labour 's ability to achieve its pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade. It said not enough was being done 'to prevent perpetrators committing these crimes in the first instance'. MPs in particular raised concerns about a 'reactive approach' to tackling growing social media threats against women and girls. It said it was not convinced the Department for Education is taking 'a sufficiently proactive role in educating young people, especially boys, on the dangers on exposure to harmful online content, and how this can lead to misogynistic attitudes'. MPs equally raised concerns about the support available for victims, finding evidence of refuges having to refuse 65% of requests and community-based services only able to support half of those who ask for help. VAWG affects at least one in 12 women each year and one in five police recorded crimes in 2022-23 were related to VAWG, PAC said. But the committee found it is likely that the true number of those affected is even higher, as many incidents go unreported. MPs raised concerns around data collection on VAWG, with the Home Office not collecting information on all crime types, nor on responses from under-16s. Anna Dixon, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said: 'The levels of violence against women and girls in our country are truly appalling and it is right the government have set out a mission to halve it. This is not an issue the Home Office can tackle alone; while arresting perpetrators is vital, it will not solve this problem. 'It is crucial that we address the underlying cultural issues, particularly the rise in harmful online content shaping misogynistic views in young men and boys. Education and other preventative measures to counter the spread of harmful content are needed.'
