Political game

Published: 10 March, 2011

• IT’S a bit rich of the Tories to criticise Camden for local decisions when they’ve cut close to £100million from our budget.

The People’s Supermarket has had support from Camden, £25,000 in the initial start-up phase, and we’ve continued to work with them. However, they do not appear to meet our criteria for discretionary rate relief. They still have time to appeal that decision, and the door will remain open to them to reapply in the future.

Meanwhile they are legally obliged, as are all voluntary, community and business organisations, to keep up with their business rates. This isn’t a local requirement it’s a national one. It’s also a national requirement, from Eric Pickles’s government, the local authorities take action to recover unpaid rates. We have no choice locally.

We have been in discussion with the People’s Supermarket since July 2010. We have offered them numerous different payment options. But as yet the debt is unsettled. They left us with little option but to issue a summons.

The bottom line is that Pickles and David Cameron are trying to use Camden and the People’s Supermarket as a political football. 

They are doing so only because Cameron happened to visit – they don’t care two hoots about the other organisations who are suffering because of their cuts.

SARAH HAYWARD
Cabinet Member for Communities, 
Regeneration & Equalities