CPAG's Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction Legislation 2014 15

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BOOK REVIEW CPAG’S HOUSING BENEFIT AND COUNCIL TAX REDUCTION LEGISLATION 27th edition Original commentary by Lorna Findlay Revised by Richard Poynter, Carolyn George, Stewart Wright, Martin Williams and Susan Mitchell Child Poverty Action Group ISBN: 978 1 90607 687 0 www.cpag.org.uk FOR HOUSING LAW PRACTITIONERS AND ADVISERS: INDISPENSABLE GUIDANCE ON HOUSING BENEFIT AND COUNCIL TAX REDUCTION NOW IN A NEW TWENTY-SEVENTH EDITION FROM THE CHILD POVERTY ACTION GROUP An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers Once again the admirable Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has launched this latest edition -- the twenty-seventh, no less -- of this massive, yet handy guide on (the title is self-explanatory) Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction 2014/2015. Well established and highly regarded, the book makes a major and certainly vital contribution to the aims of the CPAG, which ‘promotes action for the prevention and relief of poverty among children and families with children.’ Part of the Group’s remit is to research, recommend and ultimately action whatever measures are deemed necessary to alleviate and ultimately eliminate child poverty. A main objective is to make sure that impoverished families get their full entitlements under the law. This edition contains much that is new, a reflection of the fairly numerous developments that have emerged since publication of the previous edition. So if you are involved professionally in any way with advising clients as to how to maximize their benefit entitlements while minimizing their exposure to the often crippling burden of council tax levels, you’ll need to keep the current edition permanently to hand on your desk. New material includes detailed commentary on tax reduction schemes in Scotland and Wales as well as England. The comparative provisions in these three regions are provided in tables at the beginning of the book. Another new development is the addition of a new Part 6 which covers the valuation tribunal regulations pertaining to council tax reduction. Other changes centre on, for example, size criteria for the local housing allowance and the consequences for the disabled brought about by rent restriction schemes. Also discussed are the rules for transition from housing benefit to universal credit which have been amended. There is also commentary on new decisions of the courts and the Upper Tribunal. We cite here only a few examples of the useful and authoritative commentary contained in this volume of almost 2,000 pages. Produced by a team of experts in this ever changing and complex area of law, this book has become the standard text for any professional adviser, or student involved in this field, including lawyers and the relevant employees of local authorities and housing organizations. As the CPAG points out, this book is used in all housing benefit cases coming before the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber). And to assist hard-pressed advisers even further, this volume provides tables of cases, commissioners’ decisions and Upper Tribunal decisions. Also note the section on housing benefit regulations and the listings which summarize comparative provisions of tax reduction schemes in Scotland, England and Wales. As a formidable research resource, this book can safely be described as indispensable for the professional practitioner in this field. The publication date is cited as at 2014.