Re: I am on a very low income and have council tax arrears...
Wales,
The Convention rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (aka The Rome Convention) are inalienable, i.e. cannot be taken away from people, and inviolate, i.e. cannot be breached by the State. Some politicians see them as an irritation whilst others see them as an obstacle. They are there for a reason and are there to stop totalitarianism and tyranny ever walking the face of Europe again. There are 47 countries who are signatories to the Convention.
Local authorities are subject to the Convention and Section 6, Human Rights Act 1998, which makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in any way that is incompatible with a person's Convention rights. Denying a person a fair hearing before a court is a blatant breach of Article 6 and, quite possibly, Articles 17 and 18, also. There is no excuse whatsoever. Local authorities know they are subject to ECHR and the HRA in everything they do and they know it. They operate on the principle that the population are ignorant of their rights and the local authorities can get away with it. Not so these days.
As Bizzybob has alluded, ECHR and HRA is, perhaps, the only thing protecting us from the excesses and abuses of government policy.
You are absolutely spot-on about separating the "Can't Pays" from the "Won't Pays". Local authorities are far too ready to go scuttling off to the courts for Liability Orders rather than try and help those who are struggling to pay, which, in the long-run would be better, and crack down on those who refuse to pay.
Originally posted by bizzybob
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The Convention rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (aka The Rome Convention) are inalienable, i.e. cannot be taken away from people, and inviolate, i.e. cannot be breached by the State. Some politicians see them as an irritation whilst others see them as an obstacle. They are there for a reason and are there to stop totalitarianism and tyranny ever walking the face of Europe again. There are 47 countries who are signatories to the Convention.
Local authorities are subject to the Convention and Section 6, Human Rights Act 1998, which makes it unlawful for a public authority to act in any way that is incompatible with a person's Convention rights. Denying a person a fair hearing before a court is a blatant breach of Article 6 and, quite possibly, Articles 17 and 18, also. There is no excuse whatsoever. Local authorities know they are subject to ECHR and the HRA in everything they do and they know it. They operate on the principle that the population are ignorant of their rights and the local authorities can get away with it. Not so these days.
As Bizzybob has alluded, ECHR and HRA is, perhaps, the only thing protecting us from the excesses and abuses of government policy.
You are absolutely spot-on about separating the "Can't Pays" from the "Won't Pays". Local authorities are far too ready to go scuttling off to the courts for Liability Orders rather than try and help those who are struggling to pay, which, in the long-run would be better, and crack down on those who refuse to pay.
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