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Children hit by council tax debt
AN estimated 2,285 households in Maidstone struggled to pay their council tax last year – with a knock- on effect on almost twice thatnum- ber of children. A report by The Children’s Soci-
ety reveals that council tax debt is widespread, with almost 216,000 children in the South East living in 124,000 familieswhohave fallen be- hind with their bills. In Maidstone, the society esti-
mates 3,907 childrenwere affected. Rather than helping them get
back on their feet, local authorities are threatening struggling house- holds with court action and sending the bailiffs in, according to the re- port “The wolf at the door: How council tax debt collection is harm- ing children”. A spokesman for Maidstone council said: “The council works hard to support any residents expe- riencing financial difficulties. This includes referrals to debt advice agencies, targeted advice through the charity ‘Step Change’, and a
council tax reduction scheme that provides financial help for low in- come households. “We also facilitate the Maidstone Financial Capability Partnership, bringing together public, private and voluntary and community sec- tor partners to help residents who are in financial difficulty, or are looking to manage their money. “We encourage any resident ex- periencing difficulty paying their council tax to contact us as early as possible so that we can work to- gether to find a solution. “Enforcement agents are used as
a last resort, and only used where an agreement for payment could not be reached and all other recovery methods have been exhausted. “We only employ certified en- forcement agents who operate to a clear code of conduct. Performance is monitored, and any complaints received are investigated.” Money advice is available at
www.maidstone.gov.uk/moneyad- vice
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Alisdair Buchanan (centre) with (fromleft) Ed Byrne; sponsor Martin Batho; Gill Lothian and Sean Clarke fromBuchanan Optometrists, and Chris Bennett, of Optician magazine
Highest award for optician
BUCHANAN Optometrists, an independent practice run by a hus- band and wife team, has won the highest accolade at the National Optician Awards 2015. The award for Independent Prac-
tice of the Year was presented by comedian Ed Byrne at a ceremony at the Hilton in Birmingham. Voted for by industry profession-
als, it is the highest accolade for an optician’s practice and is the third award won by Buchanan Op- tometrists. The judges were partic- ularly impressed with customer care, superior level of eye examina- tions and equipment aswell as their
work with dry eyes, glaucoma and personalised varifocals. Alisdair Buchanan, who grew up
in Bearsted, and his wife Kathryn, set up the Snodland-based firm 15 years ago. Alisdair said: “This award not only gives reassurance to our clients thatwe are the best place to go for your eye care and eye wear, but shows we are committed to looking after our clients with the lat- est technologies and best products, and of course, great customer care. “Our client base continues to ex-
pand rapidly andwe now see clients from all over the UK, referred by other opticians and GPs.”
Doors close at garden centre Continued from page one
grew and blossomed – much like many of its plants. At the age of 69, Mrs Parkinson decided to throw in the trowel and the
gates of the garden centre closed for the final time. Grafty Garden Centre scored a major publicity coup, not without con-
troversy, when staff created the memorable floral sheep “Shorn” which spent a summer in the High Street before being moved to Romney Place. The sheep attracted asmuchcriticism as it did praise, although the town centre management at the time believed itwas a magnet for visitors.
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Maidstone East May 2015 5
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