Islington - cutting recycling, hiking parking charges and charging you £95 for a diesel car

Papa

<font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal;">I would like to blame Islington for this, heaven knows the council does enough stupid things and wastes enough money, particularly on daft traffic schemes, but I can't help but feel it is not entirely its fault.</span></font><div><font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;"><br></span></font></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">From <a href="http://www.islingtongazette.co.uk/news/job_losses_a_council_tax_rise_recycling_cuts_and_increased_parking_charges_among_islington_s_budget_proposals_1_3908763http://">the Islington Gazette</a>: </span></font><span style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">'The number of recycling lorries will be cut in half and kitchen and green recycling will no longer be taken from people’s doorsteps, saving an estimated £2million.</span></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana"><div><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">'And for drivers, parking charges look set to go up in some areas, and diesel vehicles, except those used for business like taxis or vans, will be subject to a £95 a year charge.'</span><br></div></font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">All of these measures seem stupid, but a) the system whereby <a href="http://www.islington.gov.uk/about/council-works/councilfinance/Pages/fund-and-spend.aspx?extra=9">your council tax doesn't go to your council</a> is daft and b) would it not be better to raise council tax by an extra £50 a year and keep some of this stuff - £4 a month is not that much to ask.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">After all, hiking charges and whacking people with £95 for a diesel car is deeply regressive - that is much less out of a rich person's earnings and the council has been actively encouraging people to buy diesels with its emission-based residents parking charges.</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">In my opinion the answer is not just to blindly vent at cuts, ultimately public spending was and is unaffordably high, but neither is the answer to just blindly cut as is happening. Why is no party standing up and saying, 'this system clearly does not work, here is at least a plan to fix it that we can discuss.'</div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">I cannot seem to find anything about this on Islington's website, or where you get council meeting agendas / minutes. Do they still produce those?</div><div><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div></div></div>

Arkady

If only there was <a href="http://campaigns.libdems.org.uk/axe_faq">a party</a> advocating replacing council tax with a local income tax, thereby replacing a regressive tax with a fair and progressive one while partly liberating local government from the machinations of Westminster at the same time.

Ali

Is that not called Scotland !

Papa

Arkady, I thought they had canned that plan. <div><br><div>I'm still not entirely convinced by it, but I would say that it sounds better than council tax, with the caveat that the fiasco where tax all goes into a central pot where it is then decided how to distribute it is stopped - and there needs to be some serious limits to prevent the creep and fiscal drag that happens with such taxes.</div><div><br></div><div>I think councils should be able to have a referendum where they lay out the case for charging those on above certain earnings an extra, say, £100 a year and clearly explain what they will do with it. I for one would personally say yes, I will pay you a bit more if you make sure you don't waste it, explain where it is going, and don't come up with half-baked plans like those above and the relentless jobs for the boys tasks, like the traffic scheme madness.</div><div><br></div><div>There's plenty of people in Islington really struggling, but also plenty who could find an extra tenner a month. That could go a long way.</div></div>

Arkady

As I understand it, councils HAVE to have a referendum now if they plan to raise council tax.  I believe that only Brighton has gone through with this, and the proposal was voted down.  People want better services but don't want to pay for them.  Also - referendums are stupid.<div><br></div><div>Councils need to be empowered again, and given the tax-raising ability to match.  There will still need to be an element of central government funding though, otherwise councils in deprived areas won't have the tax base to provide decent services.</div><div><br></div><div>Neither of the largest parties are interested in that, as they are consummate centralisers (and in the case of the Tories they fear strongholds of other parties building up within England, which they think they own).</div>

Sutent

I cant believe the council are going to cut those services. Especially services which will have environmental consensuses, which we should be investing in and not cutting. <div><br></div><div><br></div>

miss annie

I don't mind if the recycling people come less often, every fortnight is acceptable. I would not be happy about less than weekly rubbish collection though. Don't care one way or the other about parking charges as we use the Zipcar and I have a hoard of parking vouchers for visitors. I broke my ankle tripping over a paving stone near the station just before Christmas so it would be nice if the council could spend some of the cash they rake in on maintaining the pavements and roads. Generally I'm pretty happy with Islington services and glad I don't live in Haringey.

Sutent

@missannie - surely the rubbish should be collected 2 weekly and they should continue with weekly recycling collection to force people to recycle more. <div><br></div><div>Poor you breaking your angle. That sounds horrible. I hope things are on the mend. I hope someone has assessed your bone density </div>

Arkady

Our recycling bins (two large ones for five flats) become full a long time before the rubbish bins.

Papa

<div><br></div><div>Arkady, I know they can do the referendum now but they can only raise tax by the same amount for all. I think a better idea would be to put forward a plan to offer to ask those on higher incomes for more money. So everyone gets a standard raise and then those households with higher incomes pay a top-up. Obviously, this wouldn't work within the current system and may fall flat in its face, but I can't help but like to think it would be nice to lay the cards on the table and say 'if you can pay a little more, would you do it to get better services?'<br><div><br></div><div>Miss Annie, I'm with Arkady in that t<span style="font-size: 10pt;">here are three flats in our converted house - recycling bins, food waste and one normal old-fashioned dustbin per flat are full each week. I agree with you that in theory it is OK to leave recycling longer but proper rubbish needs taking every week.</span></div><div><br></div><div>However, I disagree on the parking. It may be the case that you don't worry pay parking charges, but many others do and they are already very high and deeply regressive, as rich folk can more easily <span style="font-size: 10pt;">buy new low emission cars. The Zipcar solution is great for casual car users, but there are many people who it doesn't pan out for.</span></div></div>

NorthNineteen

I'm a bit annoyed as I recently got a new (diesel) car and one of the reasons was that parking was better value as the Co2 emissions are lower, definitely a case of moving the goal posts.

Papa

If you are going to move goal posts - and indulge in this kind of stealth taxation - it would seem fairer to do it to purchases made after a certain date, not to things people have already bought encouraged by the previous system.<div><br></div><div>Interestingly, the Government had no issue with doing something similar when introducing capital gains tax for overseas owners of UK property. It comes in from April - but only gains made after that will be liable for CGT.</div><div><br></div><div>So if you happen to be a wealthy foreigner who doubled their money on the London property boom so far, the good news is you'll only be paying tax on any gains from April. Trebles all round, hey?</div>

Sutent

We have a very unfair tax system in the UK. The poorest pay a greater proportion of tax than the rich do. We need to do more so everyone in the UK pays their fair share I agree with the Liberals and the Labour government we need some sort of tax on capital which should be redistributed. 

Arkady

<font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: normal;">Interesting:</span></font><div style="font-family: Arial, Verdana; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br></div><div><font face="Arial, Verdana"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;">http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/torycontrolled-kingston-upon-thames-council-could-be-the-first-to-become-flagship-independent-authority-9985747.html</span></font><br></div>;

Papa

Sutent, higher earners contribute the largest chunk of our tax revenue.<div><br></div><div>The problem with any tax on capital is that it does not reflect ability to pay, ie the big house owned for years by a lower earner etc, the investment portfolio or nest egg prudently built up over time. </div><div><br></div><div>The other problem is creep, these taxes start off aimed only at the high end and then you either get the targeted lower to cash in further or fiscal drag. Look at stamp duty. If that £250k threshold where the bill leapt to 3%, so at least £7,500, had moved with house price inflation it would have stood at almost £800k by the time Osborne revamped the tax.</div><div><br></div><div>It is possible to be asset rich, cash poor.I personally don't agree with the state trying to force people to sell their assets via a tax.</div><div><br></div><div>A tax on income directly reflects ability to pay.</div><div><br></div><div>I'd say a bigger problem for our parties than pondering a capital tax is that through the tax credit system we support companies (especially large ones) making outsized profits for their shareholders off the back of wages that are too low to live on.</div><div><br></div><div>We need to wean ourselves off that somehow.</div><div><br></div><div>Arkady, that Kingston thing is interesting.</div>

Ali

<p>For all you diesel cars users watch this  (Dispatches Car Con) </p><p><a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand">http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/on-demand</a></p><p> </p><p>I was quite shocked that if you drive one with the windows shut you could be exposing  yourself to 3 times the safe limit of NO2</p><p> </p><p>I would sell  up the  car as it's value is going to down and down</p>