Council Tax is an expense the borough’s lowest income households simply can’t afford. Islington does discount some of its tax rates but still too many of our poorest families are falling into arrears.
Issuing court summons to people with no money is intimidating, an ineffective way of raising revenue and a waste of council resources. Camden Council have simply stopped charging council tax to its most hard-up residents. Caroline Russell is the only councillor in Islington to vote consistently against taxing the worst off.
Green Party campaigner Benali Hamdache says “Government cuts have left too many households barely hanging on. Disabled people have had benefits slashed. People on universal credit are waiting weeks to receive any money at all. How can it make sense to harass these people for money? If Islington Labour is truly ‘for the many not the few’ it should follow Camden Council’s example.”