Author: Pulse Assent

Three Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters from RAF Odiham, supported by around 90 British troops, are now on the ground and ready to begin providing logistical and troop movement support to our allies.

Armed Forces minister Mark Lancaster said:

“The UK and France have a unique security and defence relationship that has lasted for more than a century and this deployment demonstrates our shared commitment to tackling terrorism, instability and reducing threats to European security”

The Chinooks will provide niche logistical support and will also help improve safety by moving troops by air, rather than ground where they are more vulnerable to attack.

The UK has been a long-standing supporter of UN and EU military operations in Mali and has worked with international partners to prevent extremists from using the ungoverned space in the Sahel to plan and launch attacks on Europe, as well as counter the illegal trade in people, drugs, weapons and wildlife.

This is in addition to existing wider support to Africa including doubling our UN peacekeeping contribution with additional deployments to South Sudan and Somalia.

The Prime Minister will reaffirm her commitment to a Brexit that avoids a hard border and protects the Belfast Agreement, in a visit to Northern Ireland this week (Thursday 19 – Friday 20 July).

In a visit to a border area on Thursday with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister will meet with businesses to listen to their views on what working, living and trading across the border means to them.

The PM will deliver a speech on Friday in Belfast, which will emphasise her personal commitment to the strength of the UK’s four nations and the solutions set out in the White Paper that address Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances.

On restoring devolved government to Northern Ireland, the PM is expected to meet with political parties on working together towards this goal for the benefit of all communities.

She will also speak to young people to hear their views on Northern Ireland’s future, for them and generations to come.

Prime Minister Theresa May said:

I look forward to hearing views from businesses on the border in Northern Ireland on our departure from the European Union.

I fully recognise how their livelihoods, families and friends rely on the ability to move freely across the border to trade, live and work on a daily basis.

That’s why we have ruled out any kind of hard border. Daily journeys will continue to be seamless and there will be no checks or infrastructure at the border to get in the way of this.

I’ve also been clear we will not accept the imposition of any border down the Irish Sea and we will preserve the integrity of the UK’s internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it.

From the start of the negotiations, the UK Government has put Northern Ireland’s unique circumstances at the heart of our negotiations. And nothing will undermine our commitment to protecting the Belfast Agreement.

I also look forward to meeting political parties on working together to restore stable and effective devolved Government for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland.

Introduced in March, this legislation originally contained provision for councils to double the rate of tax on properties that had been empty for 2 years or more.

The government is now going further and introducing an amendment that would allow councils to triple the council tax on homes left empty for five to 10 years and quadruple it on those empty for more than a decade.

Homes which have been empty for between 2 and 5 years would still be subject to the Council Tax bill being doubled under the proposal.

Secretary of State for Communities the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said:

We’re determined to do everything we can to ensure our communities have the housing they need.

That’s why we’re giving councils extra flexibility to increase bills and incentivise owners to bring long-standing empty homes back into use.

By equipping councils with the right tools to get on with the job, we could potentially provide thousands more families with a place to call home.

Councils will be able to use funds from the premium to keep Council Tax levels down for hard working families.

Currently, there are just over 200,000 homes empty for 6 months or more in England, compared to 300,000 in 2010. This number has reduced dramatically since 2013 after councils were given powers to charge a 50% premium on council tax bills.

The vast majority of councils have introduced 50 per cent premiums on long-term empty homes. Where councils have applied the premium consistently every year, there has been a nine per cent fall in the number of homes being charged the premium.

To ensure the proposed new powers are not used to unfairly punish those facing difficult circumstances, the government has also announced today that it will publish revised guidance for councils on the use of premiums. This will also take into account issues relating to low-demand areas and ensure it does not hinder complex regeneration schemes.

The move is one of a range of measures introduced by the government to fix the country’s broken housing market. Through an ambitious package of long-term reform and targeted investment, government is ensuring communities have the homes they need.

Further information

The amendment was made during the Third Reading of the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Bill in the House of Lords today (18 July 2018).

Decisions on whether to charge a premium, and the exact rates to be charged will remain a matter for councils, taking local circumstances into account. It is anticipated that councils will be able to charge 100% premiums from April 2019, 200% premiums from April 2020 and 300% premiums from 2021.

The government is clear that the premium must not be applied where homeowners can demonstrate that their properties are genuinely on the market for sale or rent, or in cases of hardship. Councils will also need to take into account the issues of low-demand areas.

Councils have powers to refrain from charging the empty homes premium in individual cases, and there are various exemptions. No Council Tax at all can be charged on empty properties where the liable council taxpayer:

• has gone into care or hospital, is severely mentally impaired or has gone elsewhere to provide care
• is living elsewhere in armed forces accommodation for job-related purposes
• has died and probate has yet to be granted

No Council Tax premium can be charged on annexes being used as part of a main property.

Councils already have powers and incentives to tackle empty homes. Through the New Homes Bonus scheme introduced in 2011, councils earn the same financial reward for bringing an empty home back into use as for building a new one.

Since 2013, councils have been able to charge a 50% premium on the council tax bills of owners of homes empty for two years or more. A total of 291 out of 326 councils applied an empty homes premium in 2017 to 2018. All but 3 are charging the premium at the maximum 50% rate.