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** 7 October 2021
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** UK
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** Council tax could rise by 5% a year, warn finance experts (#1)
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** Sunderland boss warns of growing use of snus tobacco among players (#2)
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** Officers seized more than 70,000 illegal cigarettes in Leeds (#3)
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** International
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** Republic of Ireland: Shops call for an end to tobacco price loophole ahead of Budget 2022 (#4)
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** UK
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** English councils will need billions more from the government, and big tax increases to maintain services and pay for social care reforms, says a new analysis published today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
According to the IFS, under current spending plans, council tax rises of 3.6% will be required for the next three years to ensure councils provide the same range and quality of services in 2024-25 as they did before COVID-19.
However, it highlighted that growing underlying demand and rising cost pressures could easily push that to 5%, which would amount to an average increase of £220 by 2024–25. In addition, IFS concluded that the government’s ambitions for social care are underfunded and are likely to cost £5 billion a year in the longer term - almost three times the additional annual funding currently allocated over the next three years.
David Phillips, an associate director at IFS, said: “Without sufficient funding, councils may find themselves having to tighten the care needs assessments further in order to pay for the care cost cap and more generous means-testing arrangements. That would see some poorer people who would now be eligible losing access to council-funded care, so that coverage can be extended to other, typically financially better-off, people.”
Responding to the IFS’s analysis, the chair of the Local Government Association, Councillor James Jamieson, said: “The significant financial pressures facing local services cannot be met by council tax income alone. Councils are particularly alarmed that the Government’s solution for tackling social care’s core existing pressures appears to be solely through the use of council tax, and the social care precept.”
Source: Local Gov, 7 October 2021
See also: The Times - Council tax in England will have to rise by 5%, says Institute for Fiscal Studies ([link removed])
Institute for Fiscal Studies - What’s happened and what’s next for councils? ([link removed])
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** Sunderland manager Lee Johnson has spoken out against the usage of snus in football. Snus is a smokeless oral tobacco product that originated in Sweden.
Snus is not illegal to possess or consume. However, it has been prohibited from sale in the United Kingdom and the European Union since 1992, except for Sweden. Even if no smoke is inhaled, Johnson believes the impact can be just as detrimental to a player’s physical and mental health wellbeing.
In the UK, smoking rates are at a record low, with an ambition set to make England smoke-free by 2030. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “The sale of oral tobacco is currently banned in the UK under existing regulations. We are undertaking a review of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and aim to publish a response later this year.
Source: Gazette Herald, 6 October 2021
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** Officers have seized more than 70,000 illegal cigarettes that were hidden in shops across Leeds.
West Yorkshire Trading Standards, the police, and Leeds City Council collaborated to target hotspots for illegal tobacco dealing. Nine businesses in Leeds were visited, all of which were found to be engaging in illicit trade.
Illicit tobacco was hidden in concealments built into the wall, hidden in a van and behind the counter. The operation resulted in a seizure of more than 70,000 cigarettes and 8 kg of hand-rolling tobacco. A large quantity of cash was also seized, believed to be the proceeds of crime from illicit tobacco sales.
Linda Davis, West Yorkshire Trading Standards Manager, said: “Illicit tobacco undermines the age and price restrictions placed on tobacco and also encourages people to continue smoking. It is also linked to organised crime and contributes to an underground economy worth billions of pounds. Victims of human trafficking are often being forced to sell these illegal products in order to pay off debts or fearing harm to themselves or their families.
“I would like to thank all the partners and members of the public for reporting illegal sales and encourage everyone to continue doing so to reduce the harm caused by tobacco in our communities.”
Source: Yorkshire Evening Post, 1 October 2021
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** International
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** The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association (CSNA) has launched its Pre-Budget Submission, highlighting serious concerns regarding ongoing price manipulation by tobacco manufacturers in Ireland. They are calling on the Government to end this practice and ensure tobacco companies correctly implement budget measures. The current legislation, which allows cigarette manufacturers to set their own retail price, is resulting in significant Exchequer implications, the CSNA says.
They are calling for the implementation of several measures in Budget 2022, which will close this financial loophole. The proposed measures are the amendment of the 1996 Finance Act to allow retailers to set tobacco retail prices; banning the sale of large boxes through the Public Health (Tobacco) Act, or the amendment of tobacco pricing legislation in the Finance Act 2021; and reducing the permissible limits of imported duty-paid tobacco.
Source: Limerick Leader, 6 October 2021
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