Monthly Archives: January 2012

Explanation Sought for False Document Used by Hackney Council

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Zacchaeus 2000 Trust has helped Hackney resident win an appeal before the Valuation Tribunal England against a five year-old council bill which should have been paid by his landlord in 2004.

David O’Shaughnessy rented a single room at a now-demolished house of multi-occupation at 1G Seal Street in Hackney between 2002-2004. Five years later, in August 2009 Hackney Council demanded he over £2000 owed in council tax on the property, even though it was the responsibility of the landlord in law.

Mr O’Shaughnessy disputed his liability but Hackney Council continued to pursue him despite the law requiring that owners – not residents – must pay council tax on houses in multiple occupation.*

Finally, after a two year battle and an appeal, the Valuation Tribunal England sitting at Whitechapel has upheld Mr O’Shaughnessy’s case with a judgment issued on January 20th 2012.

Mr O’Shaughnessy has already been awarded £200 from an initial complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman – although Hackney Council has failed to pay this. But Z2K are now backing Mr O’Shaughnessy in a further complaint regarding the conduct of the Revenues and Benefits section and the use of pages of a false rent book to try and attribute liability to him.

Alan Murdie, senior lawyer at Z2K who represented Mr O’Shaughnessy at his appeal before the Tribunal stated:

“It has been the law since 1992 that owners, not occupiers, are liable for council tax on houses of multiple occupation. We cannot explain why Hackney Council were so relentless in trying to pin on Mr O’Shaughnessy, rather than the landlord concerned.”

“We are also particularly concerned that Hackney Council tried to rely on pages from a false rent book against Mr O’Shaughnessy. These documents purported to show him paying rent at 1G Seal Street in 1999, when he did not even live in Hackney until over two years later. Either the landlord was some kind of clairvoyant or there is another explanation for this document which has not yet been given. We hope that the complaint will get to the bottom of this mis-use of Mr O’Shaughnessy’s name and identity.”

“Meanwhile, the Valuation Tribunal England has now upheld Mr O’Shaughnessy’s case and I hope that any other council taxpayers who have dispute liability or calculations with their council will also be prepared to appeal there.”

 

*See the Council Tax (Liability of Owners) Regulations 1992 SI 551                                       -

For more information on the Valuation Tribunal England: www.valuationtribunal.gov.uk

Z2K help family avoid night on the streets

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Although Z2K is neither an immigration or refugee charity, we do often meet migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in desperate need of our help. Below is our Caseworker Yiannis’ account of how he gave Z2K’s trade mark intensive assistance to a family on the verge of homelessness. Unfortunately Brent’s behaviour is all too common among Local Authorities who will try anything to get out of providing assistance to those in need.

Mr and Mrs F was referred to us the day before his eviction, by his MP Glenda Jackson. The family were failed asylum seekers, with two young children. With nowhere to move to, we accompanied them to Brent social services. They said they could only help the children, and the parents would need to live somewhere separately. The parents were very upset when they heard this, and understandably said that that would not be an option.

Brent then told us the Fs would need to apply for assistance under the National Assistance Act 1948, through the Refugee Council. We went to Brixton, only to be told after a long wait that they need to make a fresh asylum claim before NAS assistance can be offered. With both tenants in tears, we then went back to Brent Council and asked them to house the children and parents together. However they had not changed their positions, they would only house the children, without Mr and Mrs F.

We asked them to reconsider, as they have a legal duty to do what is in the children’s best interest ( which involves keeping the family together whenever possible). The case was referred to ‘senior management’, only for us to wait until 5pm to be told once again that separating the parents from the children was an option being seriously considered by Brent. The mother of the children, who was already crying, had a minor panic attack, finding it very difficult to breathe or drink water. A few minutes later, the social worker from Brent returned and said that Brent had decided to house the whole family in a nearby BnB for one night only, to give them a chance to make a successful application for NAS assistance. No apology or explanation was offered as to why this offer had not been made until so late in the day, and after so much anguish on the part of the parents.

The next day, as it was clear that NAS assistance would take a week to be sorted out (at least), Brent decided to house them for a further 15 days. We referred them to another organisation which could help with their immigration and NAS applications.

Z2K amendments will now be moved on Wednesday

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As the debate around the £26,000 household benefit cap lasted late into Monday night, Z2K’s two amendments [62A and 62ZC], which aim to protect benefit claimants from unfair sanctions and any resultant damage to thier mental health, will be moved early in Wednesday’s session. We are pleased about this as many Crossbench peers we hope will vote for our amendments had left the chamber by the end of last night.

Read about the amendments in Sunday’s Observer.

Please like us on Facebook.

Z2K amendments will now be moved on Wednesday

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As the debate around the £26,000 household benefit cap lasted late into Monday night, Z2K’s two ammendments [62A and 62ZC], which aim to protect benefit claimants from unfair sanctions and any resultant damage to thier mental health, will be moved early in Wednesday’s session. We are pleased about this as many Crossbench peers we hope will vote for our amendments had left the chamber by the end of last night.

Read about the amendments in Sunday’s Observer.

Please like us on Facebook.

Welfare Reform: Joanna Kennedy comments

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Over the last few days Government Ministers have been presenting a lot of misinformation around the £26,000 household benefit cap. As this is debated in the Lords (along with two of Z2K’s amendments) later today our Chief Executive Joanna Kennedy has responded to some of the points made by Iain Duncan Smith.

Those who support the caps all seem to do so on the basis of misleading information fed to them by Iain Duncan Smith and the government,

No campaigners are arguing on the basis that homelessness means having to share a room and it is completely dishonest to say that they are.

The policy is expressed to be about driving people into work but of the 56,000 families affected only a proportion are capable of work. The rest are mothers of young children ,other carers or those who are ill but not long term disabled . Many are also already working part time.

Comparing £ 26000 benefit income with the gross average income of someone in work is a completely false comparison. The only kind of household which would receive that level of benefit is one with a number of children living in the private rented sector London or some other very expensive area. An equivalent family in work would be likely to receive substantial benefits on top of its earned income because it is not possible for a family of that kind to live on that income. The only meaningful comparison is between the household income of a similar household in a similar region in and out of work.

£26000 is not a lavish income for those relatively few who receive it because almost all of it goes to a landlord. A family with 3 children living in London in a 3 bed roomed property ( i.e with 2 children sharing ) would be likely to pay £340 pw ( the capped level of housing benefit) rent i.e £ 17680 in rent.. The average gas and electricity bill for that size household n London is £1200 and the average council tax £1200. That leaves them with £113 ,84 pw for food ,clothes , travel , household expenditure and phone for 5 people. It is very difficult indeed for anyone to manage on that income .

No one with any sense would come to England for our benefits ( leaving aside the fact that it is almost impossible to do that ). Our benefit levels are amongst the lowest in Western Europe and our cost of living amongst the highest .

The answer is said to be for these households to move to cheaper areas .However apart from the whole problem of breaking up support networks , disrupting children’s education etc the areas with low rents are those with no jobs which undermines the stated aim of the policy.

If Iain Duncan Smith really believes that this policy is in the best interests of the poor as he proclaims then it is difficult to understand why he describes it so misleadingly. It is also disappointing that these points never seem to be put to him in interview which is one of the reasons why there is such widespread misunderstanding about this issue

Peers vote on Z2K amendments

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On Monday the 23rd January, we ask you to take serious consideration of two amendments to the Welfare Reform Bill which are vital to the mental wellbeing of the poorest citizens of the UK because they provide safeguards against the damage done to mental health when debts are enforced against poverty incomes.   The Royal College of Psychiatrists, Mind, the major Christian Churches, CAB and Liberty are among the 20 NGOs supporting;

 

  1. Lord Ramsbotham’s Amendment 62A, which will ensure that Jobcentre and local authority officials do not punish welfare claimants with sanctions and penalties,  nor enforce overpayments made in error by officials, when they know there is good reason not to, by requiring officials to examine the facts and circumstances of each case,
  1. Baroness Hollins’s Amendment 62ZC, which will retain the current legal prohibition on enforcing overpayments of welfare against claimants which are made in error by officials.

 

The Department of Work and Pensions has been advised by the Royal College of Psychiatrists that poverty is trigger factor for poor mental health, a factor in maintaining poor health and part of the experience of many with poor mental health. We know from our experience of serving welfare claimants in debt to the State how seriously depressed they are: and it hurts their families too.

Welfare incomes are already set at poverty levels to act as an incentive to look for work; but the Welfare Reform Bill,  coupled with cuts and caps on one hand and rising prices of food and fuel on the other, is creating debts without the necessary safeguards for welfare claimants or poor people in work. The Centre for Mental Health has shown that mental health problems already cost the economy in England £105 billion in 2010/11; the debts this Bill will create will increase that cost.

This comes at a time when the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will remove access to legal aid for those on low incomes. When access to basic justice through the courts is being removed it is all the more vital that mistakes are not made by officials to begin with.

Paul Nicolson comments on benefit cap.

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It is the landlords who profited from the £billions paid in housing benefit every year; now we learn that £100 billion of UK property has been placed in offshore accounts beyond the reach of the taxman.

It is not fair on welfare claimants that they are bearing the heat and the burden of deficit reduction and welfare reform with cuts and caps, forcing them into unmanageable debt, while the landlords get off Scott free.

Fairness to tax payers matters but there is no balancing mantra from government or opposition regularly repeating the unfairness to welfare claimants.

Landlords have exploited both the market and the tax payer by increasing their rents in a housing market in short supply and receiving more and more housing benefit.

The mantra pouring out of the Department of Work and Pensions repeats it is unfair to taxpayers if welfare claimants are placed in expensive properties by local authorities with housing benefit paying the rent, which hard working tax payers could not dream about living in.

That is nothing compared to the unfairness to the tax payer and welfare claimants of tax the free palaces of the landlords that none of us can dream of living in.

The Bishops are right to oppose the cap on the Universal Credit in the Welfare Reform Bill.

 

Please sign our e-petition on

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/25438

Stop the housing benefit and universal credit caps.

Protests outside Houses of Parliament

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Yesterday the government was defeated by Labour and Crossbench Peers three times over the Welfare Reform Bill. Z2K is very pleased that these excellent ammendments that protect the disabled were passed and we hope that they survive when they return to the commons. They also give us hope that our own ammendments, which are still to be debated, do well.

On the same day there was also a demonstration outside the houses of parliment. Here’s a video where you can see our Chairman, Rev. Paul Nicolson, taking part.