What kinds of community and tax collection services are offered at Tower Hamlets?
By
HuutiMoney
This blog answers the question “What kinds of community and tax collection services are offered at Tower Hamlets?” It mentions the results of the 2022 local council elections in which new members of the Tower Hamlets Council have taken office in their respective wards.
These Councillors are responsible for passing council tax laws in the Council. They also help run the social services and benefits offered by the Tower Hamlets Council
What kinds of community and tax collection services are offered at Tower Hamlets?
The Tower Hamlets Tax Council offers the following services :
- Libraries
- Paying Council Rent
- Workpath “Connecting People To Potential”
- Applying for the Mandatory Energy Rebate Scheme 2022
- Voting at Local Council Elections
- Financial and Benefits Advice
- Apply for free school meals
- Victoria Park
- Mile End Park
- You can book the Stepney Green Park 3G Pitch by writing a request to Stepneygreen.Astro@towerhamlets.gov.uk.
What is the History of the Tower Hamlets Tax Council?
The London Government Act of 1963 gave the tax council its current laws and the Tower of Hamlets London Borough Council was subsequently created on 1st April 1965.
Tower Hamlets was first mentioned in written records in 1554 to signify communes to the north and east of the tower of London.
What services are available to reduce poverty in Tower Hamlets?
- Adult Social Care
- Tackling Poverty Outreach (has invested over £6.6 million since 2017)
- Fuel Poverty Support
- Every Child Online – Digital Devices
- Subsidized Holiday Childcare Scheme (In 2009 29680 children were living in poverty in Tower Hamlets)
Anticipated revenues and costs of the Anti Fraud hub
| LCFH – breakdown by fraud type | Year 1 £ | Year 1 Valid Alerts | Year 2 £ | Year 2 Valid Alerts | Total over contract life |
| Council Tax SPD Housing Business Rates Charity Business Rates SBRR B-Rates-Not in rating | -339.683 -409,867 -109,026 -132,936 N/K | 1061 60 5 51 N/K | -169,842 -204,934 -54,513 -66,468 N/K | 531 30 3 25 N/K | -1358,733 -1.639.468 -436,105 -531,745 N/K |
| Total Savings | -991,513 | -495,756 | -3,996,051 | ||
| GLA share of council taxGLA share of business rates | 78,059 89,526 | 39,030 44,763 | 312,238 358,104 | ||
| Savings after GLA | -823,927 | -411,964 | -3,295,709 | ||
| Costs Sign on FeeAnnual SubscriptionDiscount – No Housing | 75,00090,000 0 | 090,000 0 | 75,000630,000 0 | ||
| Total CIPFA Cost | 165,000 | 90,000 | 705,000 | ||
| Additional Investigators Other Internal Costs | 0 0 | 0 0 | 0 0 | ||
| Total Costs | 165,000 | 90,000 | 705,000 | ||
| Net Benefit | -658,927 | -321,964 | -2,590,709 | ||
| ROI | 367% | ||||
Local Council Elections Tower Hamlets 2022
Councillor Lutfur Rahman was elected mayor of Tower Hamlets on 6th May 2022. The other ward candidates elected to the Tower Hamlets Council this May are:
- Gulam Kibria Choudhury (Aspire Party) for Poplar Ward, Tower Hamlets
- James Robert Venables King (Labour Party) For Limehouse Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Amy Louise Lee and Abdal Ullah (Labour Party) for St Katharine’s & Wapping Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Mufeedah Bustin (Labour Party) and Peter Golds (Conservative Party) for Island Gardens Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Ahmodur Rahman Khan, Abdul Malik and Muhammad Belalludin (Aspire) for Blackwall and Cubitt Town Ward Tower Hamlets
- Kabir Ahmed (Aspire) and Asma Islam (Labour) for Weavers Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Musthak Ahmed, Abu Talha Chowdhury and Amin Rahman (Aspire) for Bethnal Green West Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Faroque Ahmed (Labour) , Shafi Ahmed (Aspire), and Kamrul Hussain (Aspire) for Whitechapel Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Amina Ali, Rachel Nancy Blake and Marc Francis (Labour) for Bow East Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Maisha Fahmida Begum and Ayas Miah (Labour) for St, Dunstans Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Abul Monsur Ohid Ahmed, Jahed Choudhury and Iqbal Hossain (Aspire) for Lansbury Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Leelu Ahmed, Mohammad Saifur Rahman and Sabina Khan (Labour) for Mile End Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Saif Uddin Khaled and Abul Nazrul (Aspire) For Bromley North Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Sabina Akhter (Labour) and Abdul Wahid Ali (Aspire) For Stepney Green Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Saied Ahmed and Maium Talukdar (Aspire) For Canary Wharf Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Anah Miah and Harun Miah (Aspire) For Shadwell Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Bodrul Islam Choudhury (Aspire) and Shubo Hussain (Labour)For Bromley South Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Suluk Ahmed and Kabir Hussain (Aspire) For Spitalfields and Banglatown Ward, Tower Hamlets
- Asma Begum (Labour) and Nathalie Benfalt (Green)For Bow West Ward, Tower Hamlets
Conservation areas in Tower Hamlets
There are 58 conservation areas in Tower Hamlets, namely:
- Albert Gardens
- All Saints Poplar
- Artillery Passage
- Balfron Tower
- Bethnal Green Gardens
- Boundary Estate
- Brick Lane and Fournier Street
- Brickfield Gardens
- Carlton Square
- Chapel House
- Clinton Road
- Coldharbour
- Commercial Road
- Driffield Road
- Elder Street
- Fairfield Road
- Fish Island and White Field Lane
- Ford Square Sidney Square
- Globe Road
- Hackney Road
- Island Gardens
- Jesus Hospital Estate
- Langdon Park
- Lansbury
- London Hospital
- Limehouse cut
- Lowell
- Medway
- Myrdle St.
- Narrow Street
- Naval Row
- Old Bethnal Green Road
- Redchurch Street
- Regents Canal
- Roman Road Market
- Ropery Street
- St Annes Church
- St Frideswides
- St. George in the East
- St. Matthias Church
- St. Pauls Shadwell
- St. Peters
- Stepney Green
- Swaton Road
- The Tower
- Three Mills
- Tomlins Grove
- Tower Hamlets Cemetary
- Tredegar Square
- Victoria Park
- Wapping Pierhead
- Wapping Wall
- Wentworth Street
- West India Dock
- Whitechapel High Street
- Whitechapel Market
- Wiltons Music Hall
- York Square
Is the possibility of recovering the property tax which is the responsibility of the owner open to him?
The situation is different depending on the type of contract entered into between the owner and the occupants of the building. The regulations in fact better protect certain tenants and in particular tenants residential lease holders.
What is a recoverable charge?
A recoverable charge is an expense paid by the owner to which the owner is entitled to claim reimbursement to its tenant. The determination of the recoverable charges in relation to those which are not is carried out according to their nature but also to the type of lease and the clauses specific therein.
The notion of recoverable charges implies:
- first the payment of the charge by the lessor, who bears the cost first,
- then, on the rental level, the reimbursement by the tenant to the lessor of the expenses incurred in interest of the building or its occupants.
The charge is generally valued at the amount of the expense. However, with the exception of housing leases, a fixed assessment of the said charge is possible (according, for example, to a percentage of the rent), which avoids the lessor having to justify the amount of the expense.
The load recovery methods are variable and adapted to the different types of
loads. Before reimbursing the lessor for said charge and in the absence of a lump sum assessment, the tenant will certainly have an interest in ascertaining the real and final amount of the latter.
Does Tower Hamlets Council have problems with Tenancy Fraud?
Yes, Tower Hamlets Council does face tenancy fraud. The following kinds of fraud are liable to be punished by the Tower Hamlets tax council:
- Application Fraud
- Subletting Fraud
- Right To Buy Fraud
- Succession Fraud
Tower Hamlets has a fraud reporting helpline : 0800 528 0294. You can also use this form to report fraud in Tower Hamlets or write an email to socialhousingfraud@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Ex Councillor Muhammad Harun from Lansbury Ward, Tower Hamlets was jailed for subletting in 2020
Tenancy Fraud is prosecuted under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.
As is the premise given when formulating this law by Barron Harrington of Watford, the Tower Hamlets Council is facing rising cases of subletting (renting out a property by a resident illegally for financial gain without the consent of the landlord) and homelessness at the same time.
The citizens of Tower Hamlets that are entitled to have the access to housing are being denied this right by the actions of selfish tenants.
The POHSFA law solves this gruesome social housing allocation problem and recovers the money defrauded from landlords and the Council by the offenders. Subletting and other tenancy fraud in the UK lead to £216m in losses for the year 2018 (Subletting accounted for £55m of these)
Conclusion
This blog post addressed the question “What kinds of community and tax collection services are offered at Tower Hamlets?”Tower Hamlets tax council does its best to minimize tax fraud. It helps the unemployed with “Work Path” which is a personalized job-finding service.
Please feel free to comment on the content or ask any questions in the comments section below :
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) : What Is The History Of The Tower Hamlets Tax Council?
What do you do if your income suddenly stops or reduces?
If you currently receive council tax reduction complete this online change of circumstances benefits form
If you do not currently receive local council tax reduction:
- Check whether you are entitled to receive universal credit on the government;s website
and if you are then make an online claim for it
- You should also claim council tax reduction from your (Tower Hamlets) tax council by clicking on this link
As council tax reduction is a means tested benefit Tower Hamlets benefits service needs to know about all your income and savings.
You must not delay informing council tax about your change or cessation of income as otherwise you could be taken to court for not paying the correct amount of council tax for the year.
What happens if I have to pay for child care?
Claims for Council Tax reduction include help for parents with child care costs, You can get a discount on your council tax bill for the amount paid for child care under certain limits. This deduction is made from the section showing your child tax credits in the council tax entitlement,
For single parents child care reductions in council tax can be claimed if :
- the single parent works for 16 hours or more
- The single parent is on maternity leave and is receiving a Maternity Allowance
- The single parent is on adoption leave and is receiving Adoption Pay.
Couples are applicable to receive council tax benefits to offset child care costs jointly when:
- Both work for 16 hours a week or more
- One of you works for 16 hours a week or more and the other is sick or disabled
- One of you works for 16 hours a week or more and the other is on maternity, paternity or adoption leave and is receiving a Maternity Allowance, Statutory (Maternity, Paternity) or Income Allowance because of paternity leave
The child whose care costs are being funded by the taxpayer should be aged 15 years or more (16 or more if he/she is disabled)
The requirements of the provider who is taking care of the child are as follows :
- The care provider should be a registered childminder
- The care is provided by a registered nursery or play scheme
- The care is provided by an out of hours scheme run by an approved provider
- The care is provided by an out school hours club or scheme provided by the school or local authority
The limits for the cost of child care that can receive council tax reduction :
- £165.00 per week for one child
- £300.00 per week for two or more children
Where can I find my council tax number?
You can find your 8 digit council tax account number on the top right hand side area of the first page of your council tax bill (the number starts with 8). You are only issued an account number by council tax after you inform them that you are moving into a property which you can do through such a form.
Your council tax number can also be found on your bank statement if you pay by Direct Debit.
It can also be noted by signing into your online Tower Hamlets Council Tax Account