This week’s Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group focused mainly on the political consequences of the local elections and what they may mean for councils, officers, local welfare policy and Revenues and Benefits services. The group also considered a significant Upper Tribunal decision on contrived tenancies in supported accommodation, involving MySpace Housing, Middlesbrough and…
Category: Politics
The danger is not change. The danger is not knowing what you do not know
Malcolm Gardner, Visionary Network Ltd The local election results were not simply a bad night for some parties and a good night for others. They were a warning about the fragility of local government at a time when councils are already under severe pressure. The results showed a sharp fragmentation of local politics. Reform UK…
When good intentions meet council tax reality, residents may pay the price
There is a familiar rhythm to British public policy. A popular campaigner identifies a real unfairness. Ministers sense an easy win. Special advisers spot a headline. A complex administrative system is reduced to a slogan. Then the professionals who actually have to run the thing are left to pick up the pieces. That, in essence,…
When Systems Collide: Supported Housing, Reorganisation and Poverty in Local Government
The Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group on 30 March ranged across three familiar but connected themes: supported housing, local government reorganisation and the latest poverty figures. What tied the conversation together was a persistent sense that national systems are still passing risk, cost and confusion down to councils, while expecting local services to…
Youth jobs, council tax support and the case for deeper reform
Reflections from the Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group This week’s Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group ranged widely, but two themes dominated the discussion: the government’s latest youth employment package, and the continuing argument over council tax support, Universal Credit and the wider future of local taxation. As ever, the session brought…
Independent R&B Monday Discussion Group: Spring Statement review: what revenues and benefits practitioners heard beneath the headlines
The latest Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group took the Chancellor’s Spring Statement as its starting point and asked a simple question: what does it really mean when viewed from the frontline of local government? The answer from practitioners was clear enough. However upbeat the national presentation may have sounded, the local picture still…
Monday Discussion Group, 12 January 2026: transparency, microwaves, beach huts and the fine art of “savings”
We reconvened for the first session of 2026 with Malcolm Gardner in the chair, supported by Nicki Duckworth, and a familiar cast of local government finance, revenues and welfare experts, including Naomi Armstrong, Paul Howarth, Gareth Morgan, Laura Bessell, Kirsty Brooksmith, Michael Fisher, Bob Wagstaff, Robert Fox, Richard Hanby, Peter Haywood and others. The meeting…
Budget 2025: Impacts on Revenues & Benefits Administration, Housing and Local Government Finance
1. Council tax administration High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) The main direct council tax change is the new High Value Council Tax Surcharge: Administrative implications for councils: There are no direct changes to core council tax discounts or CTR in the Budget, but welfare changes (below) will affect CTR caseload and income assessment. 2….
Monday Discussion Group: Budget Expectations, Council Tax Premiums, Fraud Pressures and Deprivation Indices
Summary of participant views – 24 November 2025 This week’s Monday Discussion Group opened with a sense of déjà vu. With the Budget only days away, Malcolm Gardner remarked that most of its contents seemed to have been pre-announced, leaving little mystery for Wednesday. Paul Howarth agreed, noting that Budget leaks usually reflect firm Treasury…
Pension Credit Take-Up, Notional Income, and the Real Value of Minimum Wage
Independent Revenues & Benefits Monday Discussion Group10 November 2025 The latest Monday Discussion Group, chaired by Malcolm Gardner, explored pension credit take-up, changes to notional pension income rules, and the real impact of the new national minimum wage. Pension Credit Take-Up Gareth Morgan (Dangos Training) opened the session with analysis of new DWP data showing…