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…
Category: General
Council tax reform: fairer administration, or a bill councils cannot afford to send?
The Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group met on 27 April 2026 to consider the government’s proposed reforms to council tax collection. The central question posed by Malcolm Gardner was whether the changes amount to a fairer system for households, or whether they risk creating a cash flow and collection problem that councils cannot…
The reality of council tax court fees in England
In 2024/25, councils in England raised £258million in court costs for the non-payment of council tax, sending more than three million households to court. These new findings are part of our upcoming report, Debt on Debt. However, last week the government announced a cap on council tax court charges across England, limiting the costs to residents at £100…
DWP Spring Forecast 2026: why the real welfare story is not just higher spending, but a changing social contract
The Department for Work and Pensions’ Spring Forecast 2026 is, on one level, exactly what these documents often are: a dense set of tables, assumptions and projected expenditure lines. But behind the spreadsheets sits a much bigger story. This is not simply a forecast of welfare spending rising over time. It is a warning that…
Subscription Spending, Household Budgets and Consumer Behaviour
Recurring digital payments have quietly become a fixed feature of household finances across the UK, Europe and the United States. For revenues and benefits services, understanding their scale, their cross-national consistency — and their ambiguous status as essential or discretionary spending — is becoming increasingly relevant. Revenues & Benefits Intelligence · Briefing Note The Scale…
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…
How Councils Can Use Administrative Data to Support the Delivery of the CRF
Administrative data supports councils in delivering the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) end-to-end, from identifying residents who may be eligible for support to running targeted campaigns and tracking outcomes. Administrative data allows councils to identify who may need help, target outreach based on individual circumstances and local priorities, intervene earlier to prevent escalation, and understand…
Food banks, weather shocks and the next cost of living crisis
This week’s Independent R&B Monday Discussion Group opened with two subjects that, on the surface, might have looked separate, but quickly proved to be deeply connected. Malcolm Gardner framed the session around a practical question for local government: what happens when immediate hardship on the ground meets a wider economic shock that is still only…
The Stagflation Trap: Why the UK’s Cost-of-Living Crisis is Making a Dangerous Return
For a fleeting moment in early 2026, the UK appeared to have escaped the gravity of the inflation crisis. Households finally saw a window of relief as energy forecasts dipped and the Bank of England signaled a return to target. That window has slammed shut, replaced by a “Stagflation Trap” triggered by escalating Middle East…
Briefing note: fiscal and economic context and what it means for local tax, welfare support and local government finance (March 2026)
Purpose To set out a single, joined up view of the national economic and fiscal outlook, and the practical implications for council tax, council tax reduction (CTR), local welfare support (including DHP and crisis type schemes), benefits and social security, business rates, housing, local government finance, and local government reorganisation (LGR). This note draws on…