Nottingham City Council budget cuts protest rally on Monday 9th March 2015, 1pm

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate release
Scrap the Bedroom Tax Defend Council Tax Benefit Nottingham: Cathy Meadows 07913476905

Local Group rallies against Nottingham City Council budget cuts in Nottingham Market Square on Monday 9 March 1pm

A campaign group is rallying outside Nottingham City Council’s budget meeting at the Council House at 1pm on Monday 9 March. The group want to protest against :

  • proposed increase to council tax
  • cuts to advice services
  • unspecified cuts to leisure services which could mean cuts to library services including shorter opening hours, fewer staff and increased for computer use at libraries
  • lack of detail in budget proposals during the consultation period (see above)
  • failure of the City Council to publicise Bedroom Tax refund available to all social housing tenants in the City who were overcharged under to the Consequential Provision Regulations (CPR) 2006.

The group which campaigns against the bedroom tax and cuts to council tax benefit say that people hit by the bedroom tax and those receiving council tax support are having to use money meant for food, fuel and bills to try and make up shortfalls in council tax benefit and housing benefit – This is causing extreme hardship, debt and stress made worse by the threat of pursuit by Nottingham City Council . On top of that services which support people with debt, and court cases are being cut.

See also: https://nottssos.org.uk/2015/02/21/nottingham-council-cuts-consultations-what-will-it-mean/

DPAC 4th of July 2014 ‘Independent Living Tea Party’

From Disabled People Against Cuts
http://dpac.uk.net/
Event in London at Dept. of Work and Pensions.

DPAC is delighted to extend an open invitation to celebrate Independent Living Day with us on the 4th of July at the ‘Independent Living Tea Party ‘. 
 
The party will begin at 2pm at the DWP, Caxton House in Tothill Street SW1. There will be fun & games, and entertainment; and of course, some civil disobedience. 
 
We have come a long way since the demand for Independent Living was first made nearly 50 years ago. Then, as now, IL was our solution for how society supports disabled people to take our place as equals. For how society addresses inaccessible institutions, structures and process it created, which do more to disable people than their impairments ever could. 
 
There are many strands of Independent Living, and all are under threat. Cuts to:
·                                 Support funding – such Social Care, the ILF & Disabled Students Allowance; 
·                                 Education – in areas like the wholesale destruction of SEN Statements and the continued segregation of disabled children into ‘special’ schools;
·                                 Transport – the withdrawal of Taxi-cards, freedom passes and the halting of planned works to make infrastructure more accessible, amongst a host of other cuts combine to make disabled people second-class citizens in society.
 
But we have fought this fight before – and won. Our Disabled Peoples Organisations, legal gains and the policy victories we have won previously are testament to the power, know how and skills disabled people have to develop solutions to problems created by society.  We must celebrate these achievements and remind ourselves that each of these successes have had to be earned, no-one ever gave them to us without a struggle. 
 
So celebrate with us, or alternatively create your own party. Get together with friends and supporters, and create the kind of vibrant, positive spaces we have always created. Bring the noise – bells, whistles, drums, pots & pans etc. Bring food to share. Bring your enthusiasm.
 
if you are planning your own party, here are some suggestions:
 
1) Choose your target –
focus on the important issues locally; support, education, transport etc – its up to you. Identify what you want to celebrate and who represents the biggest threat to that locally. Is it your local council or Uni? Is it a transport provider? Or is it someone else?
 
2) Tell everyone –
yes, EVERYONE. Media, campaign networks, activists, local people. DONT FORGET TO TELL DPAC so we can list and support your action!
 
3) Be heard, be seen –
make your event loud and proud. Bring music, choirs, drum, bells, whistles. Remind everyone out there that we won‘t be separated from society, we are society. We won ‘t go quietly.
 
4)  We’re also holding a Twitter Party on the Hashtag
#IL4JULY so that people at the DWP and at other events round the country
can tweet in pictures of their events and we can all join in. Further
details to follow, watch this space.
 
The famous Boston teaparty led to a revolution against the British government let’s see where our teaparty leads…..
 
 

Over 12,000 Disabled People Forced To Work Unpaid Since Workfare Scheme Launched

Government statistics on the number of claimants forced to work for charities without pay reveal just over 12,000 disabled people have faced mandatory referrals to unpaid work since the workfare scheme was launched.

Read more: http://johnnyvoid.wordpress.com/2013/07/01/over-12000-disabled-people-forced-to-work-unpaid-since-workfare-scheme-launched/

More action is needed to highlight the abuse of charities in government workfare schemes.
Local angle (Framework) latest news: http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/5789 Background on Framework: https://nottssos.org.uk/2013/05/05/opposing-charity-involvement-in-workfare-a-new-local-campaign/

No Bedroom Tax evictions in Nottingham! Lobby Monday 8th July 1pm Nottingham Council House

No Bedroom Tax evictions in Nottingham!

Lobby Monday 8th July 1pm Nottingham Council House – organised by Notts Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign.

Nine UK councils (including Broxtowe Borough) have said they will not evict people who cannot pay their rent because of the Bedroom Tax – We can get Nottingham City Council to do the same.

Under the “Under Occupancy Charge” (Bedroom Tax), the government is taking 14% or 25% off peoples’ Housing Benefit if they live in social housing (council or housing association) and have one or more “spare” bedrooms.

* The Bedroom Tax unfairly hits people with disabilities, carers, parents with part-time custody and young people who are forced to share bedrooms.

* The Bedroom Tax is a cut in Housing Benefit, which is claimed by some of the poorest in the community including part time workers, low waged and people unable to work because of their health or disability.

* It does nothing to help those who claim Housing Benefit because they are out of work, or because they are so poorly paid that they need to claim help with housing costs.

* It will not bring down the Housing Benefit bill which is big because of high rents – mainly in the private sector but now social landlords can charge 80% of the market rate.

* Even if people are able and willing to downsize, according to the Evening Post there are only 35 one bedroom properties available in Nottingham for the 6,000 people affected by the Bedroom Tax to move into. Social housing is in short supply because of a lack of investment by the government over many years.

Whilst the Bedroom Tax is a national scheme, local councils have to implement it. Nottingham City Council say they are not in favour of the scheme. We believe the only way to stop the scheme is to fight it. If all Councils against the scheme take the following action, it will force the government to re-think the Bedroom Tax:

· Refuse to evict people who can’t pay their rent because of the Bedroom Tax. The process of evicting someone from their home is long, complex, expensive (it costs £6,000 per household) and extremely stressful.

· Rather than using resources in this way, we say Nottingham City Council should use its reserves to build a campaign in Nottingham to pressurise the government to scrap the Bedroom Tax. We believe this campaign would be supported by the majority of people in Nottingham – many of whom are unaware of the changes.

· Nottingham City Council should also redesignate properties as having fewer bedrooms to limit the effects of the Bedroom Tax

· Use its influence on the boards of many housing associations to prevent them from evicting people because of the Bedroom Tax

At the Council meeting on Monday July 8, the council will be discussing how they will be implementing the Bedroom Tax.

Lobby Nottingham City Council on July 8!

For more information please contact Notts Defend Council Tax Benefits Campaign: Defendcounciltaxbenefits [at] yahoo.co.uk

Telephone 07505 135 807 / 0791 347 6905

UKUncut and DPAC – Who Wants to Evict a Millionaire? day of action today [with photo and video links]

Who wants to evict a millionaire? - welfare cuts protest logo by UKuncutDisabled People Against Cuts are serving an eviction notice on Iain Duncan Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in the front garden of his mansion! Protests have also been carrying on at David/Lord/Baron Freud’s (Welfare Minister and architect of the recent reforms who switched from Labour to the Tories around time of election) with UKUncut ‘Millionaire eviction specialists’ white van and many activists on foot paying him a visit.

Full story, photos and video links: http://www.afed.org.uk/blog/society/363-on-the-lawn-at-iain-duncan-smiths.html

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