CAMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000-ANGIE OF THE ELDER FAMILY-APPEAL AGAINST INITIAL DECISION

DATE OF DECISION: 1^ST JUNE 2009

Dear Madam,

I write further to the e-mail that you received from Mr Grafton dated 1^st May 2009 and I am now in a position to determine your appeal.

YOUR REQUESTS AND OUR INITIAL RESPONSES

In your request dated 27^th April, 2009 you asked:-

1. For evidence of the law (not statute) which states that all humans (as opposed to persons) are obliged to pay Council Tax

We said that the Local Government Finance Act 1992 requires Local Authorities to collect Council Tax and were directed towards this legislation. The Council holds no other information.

2. A copy of the law which states that a Council may prosecute a human being for Council Tax Arrears in order to recover what the Council would term a debt  

You were directed to the Council Tax Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992. The Council holds no further information.

3. For a written copy of the procedure used by the Council to validate the information used to establish the arrears.

We advised that the Local Authority has Council Tax IT systems in place to deal with the administrative processes. There are no documented procedures for validation.

4. Whether the Council can, upon request provide written evidence for the arrears (which you refer to as a loss) with full financial records and accounting to back up that debt, along with contracts committing both parties (the Council and the taxpayer).

We advised that all Council Tax accounts detail in full charges due, allowances given, payments made and balances due and this information can be provided on request. Contracts are not held.

5. What processes Councils use to distinguish between a human being (of flesh and blood) and a person for the purposes of threatening prosecution 

We said that there were no such processes.

YOUR APPEAL

In your email dated the 1^st May 2009 you stated that you were dissatisfied with the response received to your original request and required further clarification of certain points.

MY DETERMINATION

1. You state that we may be implying that the law requiring a Local Authority to collect Council Tax does not exist

In our original response we guided you towards the relevant legislation, the Local Government Finance Act 1992 which is the legal framework and applicable United Kingdom law in this regard.

I can appreciate that you requested that we respond to you without referring to statute, however we would be unable to address your query without doing so as the relevant law is entirely statute based. To answer your query without referring to statute therefore would mean we would have to respond by saying that the Council did not hold information of the description specified.

2. Can we clarify that this particular statute alone is the only means by which a council is obliged to collect taxes, and that there are no other means in force that create the same obligation?

The Local Government Finance Act is the principal legislation in force that requires Local Authorities to collect Council Tax.

3. If no other relevant information is held by the Council, no Council can collect tax from a direct human self, can you please confirm this is the case in writing.

No, this is not the case. The Local Government Finance Act requires Local Authorities to collect Council Tax from persons.

The term “persons” is not specifically defined in the Act, so to give it its ordinary meaning would be to define a person as an individual human being or the living body of a human being as defined in the Oxford Dictionary.

4. With reference to the Council Tax Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992, it is also true that this statute alone is the only means in which a Council can pursue prosecution

These are the principal regulations giving Local Authorities the legal authority to prosecute persons, as defined above.

5. You state that as the Council holds no other information in this regard then the Council has no authority to prosecute a living breathing human being of flesh and blood for Council Tax arrears.

This is not correct. The Council Tax Administration and Enforcement Regulations 1992 give Local Authorities the legal power to prosecute persons or individuals to recover Council Tax arrears.

6. You state that the information provided is not available on the website you were directed to in the previous response.

This information is available on the OPSI or Office of Public Sector Information website to which you were directed. The legal powers that Local Authorities have in relation to Council Tax are set out in the statutes mentioned above which can be found in full on this website, together with any subsequent amendments or accompanying regulations.

7. Can we clarify whether or not the Councils IT systems have been programmed sufficiently in order to distinguish between a direct human self and a person?

For the purposes of the legislation, an individual and a person are one and the same. It is therefore not necessary for an IT system to distinguish between an individual and a person and in any event IT systems deal with data which is input by Council Officers.

8. Can we clarify where information is available elsewhere as the sites we refer to do not provide the information requested.

The websites you were directed to do contain the relevant legislation as explained previously.

9. On which part of the FOIA are we relying in giving formal notice of refusal to supply information.

We are relying on part 1 of section 21 of the FOIA in that the information is exempt information because it is easily accessible by other means, namely the OPSI website as detailed above.

I can only reiterate to you that the relevant law in respect of the Council Tax queries you raise is set out in:

Statutes and Statutory Instruments make up the legal framework of the United Kingdom, alongside the common law.

Reference to persons in the legislation relates also to individuals. You will note the FOIA also refers to “persons”. As you are seeking to rely on the provisions of the FOIA, I can only presume that you accept that this also relates to individuals.

Section 1 of the FOIA states that any person making a request for information to a public authority is entitled:-

I am satisfied that this was complied with in the response provided to you on the 30^th April.

As information has been refused in relation to some parts of your request by virtue of Section 21 of the FOIA, please consider this to be formal notice of refusal under Section 17 of the Act, for the reasons stated above.

I refer also to your email dated 30^th May 2009 and would remind you that in an email dated the 1^st May 2009 you were advised that you would receive a response on or before the 1^st June 2009.

YOUR RIGHT OF FURTHER APPEAL

You have the right to appeal against my decision to the Information Commissioner, who may be contacted at:

Information Commissioner

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

D L Thomas

Head of Administration and Law