SO the council tax is to increase by a swingeing 8 per cent although the council admits that only 6.3 per cent is needed to maintain the status quo. What is the extra for?
Our generous-hearted MP, Diana Organ, has voted to increase the state pension by an insulting 75p. It is bad enough for workers who have only had a 3 per cent pay rise but they have a slim chance of persuading their employers to give them an increase.
The pensioner can do nothing and even if he/she has an occupational pension this will not have increased by more than 3 per cent.
To raise the additional tax there are three options. Reduce spending on food or fuel, or the car for those who have one (an essential in this area especially for the infirm). The pensioner will then become house-bound and see no-one.
Our councillors get a generous 'attendance allowance' for merely attending a meeting. How about one for the pensioner visiting the doctor's surgery with malnutrition or hypothermia? – B.C. Baker, Allastone Road, Lydney.