Eric Pickles has been at war with the BBC over the way it reports council cuts for a while now. But today the battle took on a new front following the corporation’s reporting of a report on council tax benefit cuts. This morning the Beeb picked up on a report from the Resolution Foundation which warned council tax bills for the poorest families could rise by as much as £600. The way the story, which you can read online here, was reported has angered Jake Berry, PPS to Grant Shapps, sufficiently to fire off an angry letter to BBC director of News Helen Boaden.
The letter, which I’ve seen this afternoon, says:
This morning BBC news outlets gave heavy prominence to a report on council tax benefit from the Resolution Foundation.
The report was highly critical of Government policy concerning changes to council tax benefit.
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