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Discount scare stories
• I MUST correct the misleading claims about the council’s pensioners council tax discount put about by Islington Labour Party (Phone chaos OAPs ‘lose tax discount’, May 15). Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone used the tactic of scaring pensioners with fictional stories of Lib Dem plans to scrap the Freedom Pass and now Islington Labour is playing the same nasty trick on our older citizens.
The figure of 3,000 pensioners missing out on the discount is pure fantasy, based on completely spurious assumptions. The council gave the discount automatically in April to all pensioners whose names and addresses we were able to find out; just under 5,000 households benefited immediately.
However, because not even this prying Big Brother Labour government requires people to give their age when registering for council tax we weren’t able to give the discount automatically to all eligible pensioners.
We have advertised the discount and have so far received applications from hundreds of people who did not get it automatically.
All council staff working with the elderly will be promoting the discount. Anybody who thinks they might be eligible can still apply by calling 7527 2633, visiting Contact Islington at 222 Upper Street or via the council’s website.
A complaint has already been made to the Electoral Commission about Labour’s callous misuse of information about the pensioner discount in a leaflet put through doors in Islington. Labour should be ashamed of the way it is using pensioners as a political football and scaring them needlessly.
CLLR JOHN GILBERT
Lib Dem executive member for finance
• HAVING no patience with the telephone, I wrote, sending a photocopy of my birth certificate with my council tax payment.
Result: after a few minor hiccups, my cheque arrived on May 14 (thank you, council). Motto: Ignore the stuff about the phone – and write.
It would save us all a lot of hassle if the council, having checked people’s ages, automatically deducted such discounts at source.
MA PARKER
N1
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