Key members of the Labour Party in Caerphilly County Borough have attacked the council’s decision to increase bereavement charges by 18.5%, calling it a stealth tax.
Last week the Plaid Cymru-led council decided to implement the increase, plus inflation, every year for the next five years.
Labour has condemned the rise as a “stealth tax”.
Cllr Harry Andrews, leader of the Labour Group on Caerphilly Council, said: “Plaid Cymru are introducing a confused range of stealth taxes and increased charges at the same time as a council tax freeze.
“They could have made a clear choice on bereavement charges three years ago, as recommended by Labour, but instead they chose to avoid making a clear decision. This makes a mockery of their claim to want to protect residents against current financial difficulties.”
Labour AMs Jeff Cuthbert, Gwyn Price and Huw Lewis have also lined up to attack the policy.
Caerphilly AM Mr Cuthbert said: “This increase hits vulnerable families and people at a time when they are grieving. This is yet another of the stealth taxes which I warned the Plaid Council would throw at us after their announcement that they would freeze council tax.”
Mr Price, AM for Islwyn, added that raising extra money from grieving relatives was “unacceptable”.
He said: “These unexpected increases are an example of how out of touch Caerphilly Council’s Plaid Cymru leadership are. Raising extra money from grieving relatives when economic times are so difficult is unacceptable. This is yet another example of a Plaid stealth tax and they need to realise that the people of this borough will not stand for it.”
Mr Lewis, the AM for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, urged Plaid councillors.
Cllrr Colin Mann, Plaid Cymru’s deputy leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council defended the policy and hit back at the Labour politicians.
He said: “The increase in charges was first recommended more than two years ago by an all-party task and finish group in which Labour councillors were prominent.
“The Plaid-led cabinet at the time felt the increases proposed were too high and implemented a 10% increase rather than the recommended 18.5%. Another part of the decision was a review after two years.
“After re-consideration, the task and finish group stuck to their original recommendations and strongly criticised the Plaid-led cabinet for not implementing their original recommendations. I was in the scrutiny committee when Labour members led the criticism of the cabinet.
“So it’s clear that the Labour Assembly Members are trying desperately to blame Plaid Cymru for a decision their members were fully involved in. Perhaps, it would have helped them if they had talked first to the Labour group leader on the council to check on the actions of their own members.
“The Assembly Members clearly don’t want the facts to spoil their narrative and are trying to mislead the public in believing that their members had nothing to do with recommending these increases. It is difficult to see the facts when your head is buried in the sand.”
This `spat` between Labour and Plaid has the ability to loose sight of the issues here.
It appears that most people NOW except the fact that this increase in `death duties` imposed by the Plaid Cymru Cabinet of Caerphilly CBC is unwarrented and unacceptable, particulally when, in the words of Councillor Colin Mann, Cabinet member, "The increases are necessary in order to `drive up standards` in our cemeteries". They are perfectly satisfactory for the time being I am sure.
Where do the Plaid Cymru regional AM`s Lindsay Whittle and Jocelyn Davies stand on this issue, both are extreemly keen to protect the interests of low income families, I presume this still includes pensioners and severly sick, sometimes terminally ill individuals, all citizens of Caerphilly Borough, Lindsay said the bosses of power companies are " Gangsters in Suits" in a recent interject in an Assembly Session, what about his Party Colleagues who have introduced this Tax in the Council of which he is still a member, I consider them all to be gowned as the modern day "Grim Reapers", perhaps they could learn something from Camerons u-turns recently, and reverse the obnoxious stealth tax on ALL citizens of the Borough.
This is a classic example of party politics in action at local government level. Plaid and Labour both blaming the other for a bad policy.
What both sides fail to see is that increases in charges on this scale, supposedly to "Drive up the quality of service", are wrong. It is as simple as that, in my view.
I have talked to nobody who is so disatisfied with the bereavement service currently offered that they believe an increase above inflation is justified. Perhaps this is not about improving services but an attempt to balance the books after handing over £15 Million of our money to rich bankers in Iceland? Whatever the "all party task & finish group" recommended it was the Plaid cabinet that passed this increase. They could, and should, have rejected this tax increase on grieving relatives.
Please see Lindsay Whittle's Blog on Energy Price Rises.
Pot calling the kettle black ???
plaid's stealthy "death tax" and to misquote the old folk song –
when the goodlord calls I cant go, cosi'll owe my soul to the council store
not so much as a paupers funeral as a Nationalist council making paupers of grieving relatives
Gareth Williams