MG Rover staff get council tax holiday

MORE than 600 former MG Rover workers are to receive a four-month holiday from paying council tax as they struggle with redundancy.

Bromsgrove District Council, which borders the sprawling plant, said it would suspend the payments for workers living in the area for four months.

Kevin Dicks, corporate director of resources, said the local authority wanted to do all it could to help former MG Rover workers who found themselves without a job.

He said: 'There are over 600 ex-Rover workers living in the Bromsgrove District. We hope that by suspending this payment it will be of some benefit to those affected during this difficult time.'

Anyone interested in applying for the council tax holiday will have to provide their redundancy notice, proof of identity and address and their National Insurance number before being considered.

The news comes after the Government was urged to reconsider the funds it was making available to help retrain MG Rover workers.

This followed a new report which argued more money would be needed to help the 5,000 ex-employees find new jobs.

The report said it was questionable how quickly the Longbridge staff would be able to find work in the local economy.