No:

Question

Answer

1

What was your opening bad debt provision (as at 1st April )?

Please see attached CIPFA reports from 2000/2001 to 2008/2009 which will answer questions number 1 to 43. We do not have a return for 2003/2004 because we did not submit one.

2

What was the total value of write offs in (including previous years)?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

3

What is your revised provision of bad debts as at 31 March each year?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

4

What is your collection fund surplus/deficit as at 31st March 2008?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

5

Court costs - Amounts raised in 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

6

Total Court costs collected in 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

7

Costs charged to individual taxpayers for: issue of summons.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

8

Costs charged to individual taxpayers for: liability order.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

Section A: Council Tax, Council Tax Benefit

9

Total number of recipients of 100% benefit at the time of initial billing for 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

10

Total number of recipients of other benefit at the time of initial billing for 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

Section B: National Non-Domestic Rates Reliefs

11

Number of cases of community amateur sports club relief during 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

12

Number of cases of rural relief during 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

13

Number of cases of hardship relief during 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

14

Number of cases of small business rate relief during 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

15

Number of cases of other relief during 2007-08 Interest Payments.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

16

Number of interest payment cases during 2007-08.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

17

Does your authority operate a Business Improvement Development Scheme (BIDS)?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

Section C: Other Information - Council Tax and NNDR Council Tax General Information Day / Month

18

Due date of first instalment in.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

19

Number of payment dates offered each month to direct debit instalment payers Accounts raised.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

20

Total number of accounts raised at time of initial billing for 2007-08 (excluding nil bills.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

21

Total number of nil bills, NB. If you cannot separately identify nil bills please indicate with a cell reference.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

22

Number of new bills and adjustment notices issued during the year.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

Enforcement

23

Number of reminders issued (including final notices).

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

24

Number of summonses issued.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

25

Number of liability orders granted.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

26

Number of attachment of earnings orders issued.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

27

Number of applications for deductions from income support.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

28

Number of cases referred to bailiff to levy distress.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

29

Number of cased referred to bailiff where goods are removed.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

30

Number of charging orders.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

31

Number of committal summonses issued.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

32

Number of arrest warrants granted.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

33

Number of committal orders obtained and postponed.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

34

Number of persons committed to prison and who served a prison term.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

35

Number of persons committed to prison but did not serve a prison term.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

36

Number of insolvencies commenced by the authority.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

37

Does your authority pursue criminal prosecution for non-return of requests of earnings information (council tax only)?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

38

Does your authority impose penalties relating to non-provision of information (council tax only)?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

39

Are rent rebates dealt with by the finance department?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

40

Do you use in-house bailiffs?

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

Software packages used for the provision of the following:

41

Council Tax Northgate.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

42

NNDR Sedgemoor.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

43

Council Tax Benefit Northgate.

Please see attached CIPFA reports.

Not part of your cipfa return

44

Cost paid to court each years ( or cost per LO ).

From 2005 to date we pay the court £3 per summons. Prior to this it was 70p.

45

Total collected by bailiffs.

Please note we have no data going back further that 2002.

2002

£229,307.78

2003

£306,979.58

2004

£948,333.68

2005

£1,124,028.64

2006

£1,420,436.29

2007

£1,182,603.08

2008

£1,114,512.72

2009

£902,917.56

2010

So far £1.276m

46

An indication as to what the court funds collection accounts pays for each year.

Please can you clarify the question?

47

An indication to any policy that you have in place to ensure you protect vulnerable customers from the court action to the bailiffs.

If at any time the Bailiff is made aware that the customer is vulnerable they will act accordingly. If the customer doesn't respond to letters or telephone calls, then the Bailiff will visit and will personally discuss with the customer their individual needs. In addition Bailiffs will be approached by organisations such as Social Workers, CAB etc etc

48

Any and all agreed rates and conditions that your instructed bailiff should maintain.

All Bailiff Companies acting on behalf of Thurrock Council adhere to a service level agreement. Please see attached. Appendix A.

49

Number of bankruptcy actions threatened.

We did not start to use Bankruptcy until 2008.

08/09 - 893

09/10 (so far) - 236

50

Number of bankruptcy action gained.

We did not start to use Bankruptcy until 2008.

08/09 - 132

09/10 (so far) - 23

51

All other alternate action taken and the number of bills that tits taken on.

If the debt is not pursued through a Bailiff the following courses of action are utilised as appropriate - Attachment of Benefits, Attachment of Earnings, Bankruptcy, Liquidation, Use of Debt Collection agencies, Commital. The number of actions taken can be seen on the CIPFA report. It is not possible to tell how many bills this relates to as one bill can have various actions taken on it throughout the year.

52

An indication as to bonus markers for collection rates for staff.

None.