New website
The Hereford Issue can now be found at www.theherefordissue.com
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Defending council tax
Council tax is a dirty word. Everyone hates it, nobody wants to pay it. Or so it seems. Because despite the need for council tax reform, the concept is still sound. None of us is an island and we all use and enjoy the services and infrastructure our council provides. When we step out of our gate, we expect the roads to be maintained, the street lights to be working, and we expect the emergency services to come to our aid, should we need help. So we pay into the common pot, to share in the public services that make our lives better. Services like social care, waste collection and highway maintenance. Some we use for a short time and then never again, like schools. Others we may never need but are always there, free to use whenever there's an emergency, like the fire service and police. Our council tax provides us with a collective insurance policy. And what our tax money pays towards is, in effect, up to us. As a society we once took the decision that everybody who needs a home shou...
More council tax support needed for low-income households
Next month Herefordshire Council will decide whether to raise council tax by a proposed 4.99%, as it tries and plug a potential budget gap of up to £16 million caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The raise is broken down as a 1.99% rise in core council tax and a precept 3% rise to support vulnerable people. For the average band D property this means an extra £6.54 a month. The raise would create a budget of £320 million for the coming year, including spending of £80 million on council-maintained schools. But the proposed rise comes at a time when many households are also struggling because of the coronavirus pandemic. People on furlough have had their wages cut and many others have been made redundant. The little increases we see here and there can add up to a lot and council leaders have to think carefully about the proposed increase in tax. THEY NEED TO DO THREE THINGS: 👉 Broaden the scope of eligibility for council tax reductions, to include those people who have been furloughed fo...
Petition: Make Herefordshire's buses fare-free
The Hereford Issue is campaigning for a new, fare-free bus service across Herefordshire, to help reduce congestion on our roads and pollution in our atmosphere. Please sign the petition, and please share with friends : http://chng.it/Vn2Bx9VBym Herefordshire's roads are getting busier and busier. And Hereford in particular has a traffic problem that needs to be fixed. Public transport is one solution. We know that more people on buses means fewer cars on the roads and less pollution in our atmosphere. But Herefordshire's bus fares are too expensive and services don't run frequently enough. This has to change. We need a county-wide bus service that runs more often. And, as many other cities have already done around the world, we need a bus service that is fare-free! Fare-free buses give the best incentive for drivers to leave the car at home. Being free means that riders are saving money on petrol and, over a number of journeys, this can have a big impact on household spendi...
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