Ellamental Mama

Keir Starmer in another heavy hint 2 child benefit cap gone. Says rolling out breakfast clubs is “our first step in tackling child poverty”. Adds: “We have walked that road before - we will walk that road again.”

Reports out that the govt hasn't ruled out ending the 25% single person council tax discount. Clearly this would be a painful hit for single adults and single parent families, but also 1) What about the similar reduction for Severe Medical Impairments? Someone with an SMI doesn't count for council tax purposes, so if as is common they live with another adult, there's an 25% reduction equivalent to the single person reduction. Surely they're not going to end the reduction for these vulnerable people too? 2) Substantial council tax changes shouldn't be done without a rebanding. Up to 400,000 homes are in the wrong band because we still rely in Eng & Scot on a stop-gap temporary valuation done in 1991 to dictate what bands people are in. If such a big change comes, surely there should be even more emphasis on ensuring that people are in the right band and not overpaying.