I know that local authorities have quite wide-ranging powers but I don't know the detail. When my mother lived on her own and was diagnosed with dementia, social services told me they had the power to put her in a home if she wouldn't go voluntarily, under DOLS [Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards]. I don't think the local authority can claim your mother's estate but I understand that they can claim care costs when, say, a property is sold. In your place, I'd be asking the local AgeUK and Dementia UK how it all works, to get a better understanding. I think it would also help us if you could tell us what you're trying to achieve. https://www.ageuk.org.uk/ https://www.dementiauk.org/information-and-support/?_gl=1*1fg1lya*_up*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjw17qvBhBrEiwA1rU9w6Q5pWVjQRnCWtXybAcBjhqEkaBjVY0kWIiu6CsJW5vQNOd7qLBWmhoCyCEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

What's happening with Thames Water? Thames Water absent from industry’s £180m anti-pollution drive | Thames Water | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Ministers disappointed by decision of one of worst sewage dumpers not to join England-wide initiative

I think the LA can do thst if they have the right paperwork, but I'm not experienced in this. Are they responsible for paying for your mother's care? If it was me, I'd talk to the social worker and try to get a better understanding of what they're doing and what they've done. I don't understand what you're saying about the keys to the property if the locks have been changed. HB

Have you spoken to the senior social worker about getting your things back? The other people you could try are the CAB who might have contacts with the local council. HB

Another plan to save the Tories. Get the Brits to vote for reducing their human rights. MPs want Boris to front another European referendum on the same day as the General Election - but this time to see if Britain should quit the ECHR | Daily Mail Online WWW.DAILYMAIL.CO.UK Tory MPs see the idea of a 'Super Thursday' double poll - a referendum on the European Convention on Human Rights on the same day as the General...

Hello, welcome to CAG. I understand that people always think the worst, but please believe me that nobody from this forum has ever gone to prison. Also, with the tax people Compliance isn't as scary as it sounds, in our experience. It's just a department. You need to give them the correct information so they can calculate how much you were over paid. That will need to be repaid in affordable monthly amounts and might be deducted from benefits that you receive. Please, please read some other threads on here about people who've been overpaid tax credits and how their cases turned out. Everybody starts out feeling like you and after the phone call, they say it was much easier they expected. Best, HB

Why? Related question: If Johnson cares so much about Ukraine, why is he backing Trump who doesn't back the country and is a friend of Putin? Boris Johnson ‘held unofficial talks with president of Venezuela in February’ | Boris Johnson | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Former PM apparently met autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro over concerns he may supply weapons to Russia

The Atlas system sounds on a par with Horizon. Faulty £71m Home Office IT system causes immigration errors and leaves staff ‘sobbing’ INEWS.CO.UK Asylum, visas, citizenship and immigration enforcement disrupted and delayed by Atlas system - where official data can ‘evaporate’, it is claimed

LFI, you can only contact Trading Standards via the CAB these days. HB

There was a figure in an article the other, I think I posted it, that said PO has spent twice as much on legal costs as it has on compensation. I wouldn't be surprised if quite a lot of this is from trying to argue against cases they shouldn't have been fighting, to 'protect the PO brand'.

For anyone who'd like to listen to the Law in Action programme the other day, it's here. Jo Hamilton is a guest on it. Law in Action - The Post Office scandal - BBC Sounds WWW.BBC.CO.UK What part did lawyers play in the Post Office miscarriage of justice?

HMG tried not to publish this because they wanted it to show that LTNs don't work and are unpopular. Their own report shows otherwise. Rishi Sunak’s report finds low-traffic neighbourhoods work and are popular | Low-traffic neighbourhoods | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Exclusive: Downing Street initially buried study, which Tories had hoped would strengthen arguments against traffic-reducing measures

So you need the DWP. This link has phone details for them. What to do after someone dies: Report the death without a Tell Us Once reference number - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK The steps you must take when someone dies - register a death, report a death with Tell Us Once, coroners, funerals and death abroad. Then you need the DWP. You might want to try the DWP International Pension Centre who are very helpful. This link also has a landline number for them. HB

Hi. I think you're right to contact the gym. I don't want to be offensive though, but did you use AI to write the letter? It sounds very American and in my world, nobody starts a letter 'I hope this finds you well'. They could have seen loads of these. I would write something shorter, in your own words like you explained to us here, nothing complicated. The AI version could be useful to you in knowing how to lay out a letter. Post it up here if you like and we'll help you to refine it. HB

Thank you dx. HB

Could you tell us what you're trying to talk to the UK government department/s about please? HB

Hello, welcome to CAG. Thank you for the information we need to start advising you. I see that you have left the PCN reference on your document. For anonymity you need to edit that out please, but you also need to resave it as a pdf file which is more secure. Best, HB

I'm not sure if it's the tax people or the pension and benefits people you want to tell. HB

I can see your problem and I don't know the answer to a phone line you can't contact. Otherwise I was going to suggest the CAB. Are there any forums for expats that you could try for help? I suppose your query can't be sent as a letter? HB

Hi. I'm very sorry about your wife and hope you're bearing up. Are you in the UK now or still abroad? HB

Well done! Is there any chance you could scan up the letter please? It helps if we can see what reasons a court considers to be important. HB

Truss spent £15k on herself and her entourage on in-flight catering during a trip to Australia. There are other examples in the article; she's a money-spending machine. Liz Truss’ massive in-flight food and booze bill revealed – POLITICO WWW.POLITICO.EU Taxpayers picked up tab for catering worth more than £1,000-a-head during flight to Australia when former U.K. PM was...

Sounds hysterical to me, tbh.

I can't post a link because of the firewall but the Times had an article yesterday that said the government plans use the NHS app to monitor step counts on people's smart phones, to 'help' them lead healthier lives and to get more people back into work. I had to check it wasn't 1st April when I read the article because this sounds way beyond nanny state stuff to me. I thought Tories didn't like that...

I agree with dx, I think you need to get things in writing so we can figure out what's happened. HB