Points to Ponder

[Hugo]

Council tax in England, where – unlike Wales – there has not been a revaluation of properties since the tax was introduced, is still based on valuations from April 1991.
Wales had a Council Tax revaluation in 2003 and yet I've read somewhere that Wales is considering another revaluation of Council Tax ... why?
It would be much fairer and more leveling up if England had its revaluation now, just imagine the extra revenue for England's Councils.      I don't think that that idea would be supported by England's property owners, particularly those in the South East of the country

[Ian]

I will be interested to see how Starmer reacts to the non-binding vote at the Labour Party conference last week against the government's withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance for all pensioners not receiving specific benefits.  It was a ham fisted imposition in the first place.

[DVT]

Council Tax - if Wales are thinking of a revaluation that's another load of our money going on the administration.  Another vanity project by the Seneddd instead of putting the money into things that are important to all of us - i.e. the NHS and education.

Heating allowance - I reckon this is a smokescreen for worse things.  This was announced very quickly and I am sure they (Liebour party) knew it would get everyone up in arms about it.  Then just before the budget they will scrap the idea, to the relief of many, and the budget will reveal much worse things that will affect us all - they have already warned us.

[Meleri]

Wales are in the process of Council Tax Reform & Phase 1 consultation was carried out July to October 2023. Phase 2 consultation took place November 2023 to February 2024, then phase 3 was to change the system & was earmarked for 2025, but it has now been put back to 2028.

Looks like all band E & above will be going up a band, so an extra £40 per month. Some will stay as they are & the cheaper properties will reduce. Apparently it is to make a fairer system. The fact is due to holiday lets being so lucrative a lot of properties have been bought up & prices increased here in North Wales. Many properties in South Wales especially the valleys area are much cheaper, so we will be paying more & the South a lot less with a few exceptions.

The Welsh Labour Government at The Senedd are also looking into amending the Local Government Finance (Wales) Bill to have more frequent, regular revaluations every 5 years from 2028. Half the households in Wales currently receive a discount or reduction on their Council Tax bill. They are going to review all 53 categories of discounts also to make it fairer & regularly check that claimants are still living in the same situations. 

[DaveR]

I will be interested to see how Starmer reacts to the non-binding vote at the Labour Party conference last week against the government's withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance for all pensioners not receiving specific benefits.  It was a ham fisted imposition in the first place.

He doesn’t care. None of them do. All of the people that voted Labour thinking that things would change for the better will sadly be disappointed. Just a different face in a different suit.

[Ian]

I will be interested to see how Starmer reacts ...  It was a ham fisted imposition in the first place.

He doesn’t care. None of them does. All of the people that voted Labour thinking that things would change for the better will sadly be disappointed. Just a different face in a different suit.

Not sure about that. Couple of things made me wonder. Firstly, at least one Guardian columnist is thinking along the same lines. But the other is simple: Starmer is no idiot and will be well aware that if he messes things up Labour will be all but finished - for good.   Pensioners, after all, form a key demographic for Labour. They cannot afford to throw chances away. 

[SteveH]

Something to bear in mind.............

The minimum price at which alcohol can be sold in Scotland has risen by 30% in an attempt to keep up with inflation over the past six years.

The minimum unit price (MUP) has not changed since it was set at 50p per unit of alcohol when it was first introduced in May 2018.

It has now increased to 65p per unit, meaning a typical 12.5% bottle of wine cannot be sold for less than £6.09 and a can of lager will be at least £1.30.

MUP is not a tax to generate income for the government. Instead it aims it to reduce the availability of cheap alcohol in shops by setting a minimum price.

For example, a bottle of vodka will now cost at least £17.06 in Scotland - about £5 more than many supermarkets are selling it for in England, where there is no minimum pricing.        https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg2d2kdgzeo

[SteveH]

A PETITIONER has accused Wales’ transport secretary of being disingenuous by suggesting the Welsh Government has no plans to bring in road charging.

Ken Skates has maintained the Welsh Government had no plans to introduce schemes as he responded to a 10,183-signature Senedd petition against charging motorists.

But petitioner Dan Healey-Benson has warned the transport secretary is “being disingenuous” and “simply passing the buck to councils”.

He pointed out that road user charging is explicitly referred to in the Welsh Government’s 2022/27 transport plan in a section titled “What we will deliver – key priorities”.

cont https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/24620635.wales-transport-secretary-disingenuous-road-charging/

[SteveH]

I am biased over this subject living in Llandudno, definitely more forward thinking needed, its only a matter of time, especially when looking at an aerial view ..........................

ALMOST A QUARTER of a million Welsh households are at risk of flooding, with the number of flood risk alerts surging by 16% last year, the Senedd heard.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Wales’ climate change secretary, told the Senedd that safeguarding people from the catastrophic impact of flooding is of utmost importance.

In a statement on October 1, the deputy first minister outlined the Welsh Government’s plans to protect people from the threats of climate change.

Mr Irranca-Davies told the Senedd that a record £75m for flood programmes has been maintained this year despite pressure on the public purse.

cont https://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/24624873.concerns-raised-flood-risk-alerts-welsh-homes/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[SteveH]

Will return fees stop you clothes shopping online?

A panic order ahead of the weekend and a return on Monday for the stuff we do not want - many of us are used to the convenience online shopping gives us.

But online retailer Asos is the latest of many to introduce a returns fee from Tuesday for frequent returners, blaming the level from some people as "unsustainable".

Online shopping generates 4.8 times more packaging waste than offline shopping, external, according to one study, in addition to the emissions from transferring goods to people's homes.

Medi Parry Williams, a retail marketing expert, said some stores have reported return rates of more than 25%, and that fees may get customers back in physical stores.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy98e42xkno

[SteveH]

Water companies need to spend millions to update their systems. not sure if fining them is helping?
Water companies have been ordered to return £158m to customers via lower bills next year after missing key targets on pollution and leaks.

But most customers will only see their bills fall by less than £10.

Environmental activists questioned the impact of the water regulator Ofwat's actions as this is the fourth year running companies have had to refund customers.

Industry body Water UK told the BBC that companies had made improvements across most measures and they were committed to boosting their performance.

cont plus stats  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0r84lnng4eo


Underperforming Welsh Water ordered to pay £24m
Welsh Water has been ordered to pay a £24.1m underperformance penalty by industry regulator Ofwat.

It is one of only three water companies in Wales and England to be placed in the regulator's lowest "lagging" category.

It comes as water firms across the two nations have been ordered to pay a total of £158m after missing key targets on pollution, leaks and supply interruptions.

A Welsh Water spokesperson said the company was "working hard" to implement improvements its customers expect.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjr9qlr1ryo

[SteveH]

Deaths have outnumbered births annually in the UK for the first time in nearly 50 years, excluding the Covid pandemic, new official figures show.

There were 16,300 more deaths than births in the year to June 2023, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. In Scotland and Wales, deaths outnumbered births while the opposite occurred in England and Northern Ireland, although not by a large margin.

The UK population still increased by the largest amount since the early 1970s, with net migration the main contributor across all four countries.

The ONS says the population grew by 662,400 to an estimated 68,265,200 people in the year to mid-2023 - a 1% increase.

Net international migration, the difference between the number of people arriving in the UK and leaving, is estimated at 677,300 for the year to mid-2023.

Figures show that, without that net migration figure, the UK's population would have fallen.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0ezy14rj8o

[Hugo]

Himalayas: Climbers rescued after being trapped for days on mountain
These two experienced climbers were extremely lucky to survive on the mountain and were eventually rescued by helicopter.        I watched a video link between the ITV presenters and the two climbers and Ed Balls commented on how expensive the rescue mission must have cost and he asked them a simple question
"Are you insured for such a rescue?"      without any hesitation the pair of them confirmed that they were insured and always were when they did any mountaineering
Two very lucky but very responsible people.      I wonder how many of the people who walk in the Snowdonia National park do the same?.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETlI_O0TLDY

[SteveH]

The financial reality of hiking council taxes on second homes in Gwynedd
It's been claimed the policy is costing the local authority money but figures show it is actually making millions of pounds a year

A local authority fighting to curb second home numbers has revealed the spiralling income it derives by hiking council tax premiums. Cyngor Gwynedd receipts doubled to £6m after the premium was increased from to 100%, and there has been another big jump to £9m since the premium was pushed to 150%.

The figures were released to counter claims by a Tory Senedd Member (MS) that council tax premiums were costing councils lost revenue. To demonstrate her own position, Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders filed a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.......

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/financial-reality-hiking-council-taxes-30108555?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Ian]

The UK is currently the second safest on the roads (Sweden is top) and joint 11th in the world. Not sure we actually need the somewhat bizarre 20mph limit.