Freedom of Information request response CRM 766050
What actions /policy changes have been applied by the council to improve
collection rates of council tax / business rates since 2000 and what date did
they come into affect from
For the period 2000 to date, the only significant change in the actions or policies
governing the collection rates of Council Tax and Business Rates (NNDR) by North
East Lincolnshire Council was the approval and adoption by Cabinet on the 6th July
2009 of the Debt Recovery Strategy. The Strategy brings together the policies and
procedures for the management of all council debts, to ensure consistency and co-
ordination. A copy of the Debt Recovery Strategy is provided for your information.
The Council transferred to a new ICT system in June 2002, and had limited ability to
issue recovery notices during 2002/03 and 2003/04. In April 2004 the Council
employed a new Head of Service who implemented a 12 month programme of
recovery activity.
The number of notices sent
The number of Council Tax and NNDR Recovery Notices sent in the financial years
2000/01 to 2008/09 is included in the attached spreadsheet.
Please be aware that the figures for Council Tax for the financial years 2003/04 to
2007/08 (to date) were supplied to you on 22nd February 2008.
1. How many are sent within April, before the end of the month.
The number of Council Tax and NNDR Recovery Notices sent in the month of April
in the financial years 2000/01 to 2008/09 is included in the attached spreadsheet.
For your information, the notices would relate to debts for previous financial years.
The cycle of 12 monthly notice runs did not commence until 2004/05.
The number of summons sent
The number of Council Tax and NNDR summons sent for the financial years
2000/01 to 2008/09 is included in the attached spreadsheet.
Please be aware that the figures for Council Tax for the financial years 2003/04 to
2007/08 (to date) were supplied to you on 22nd February 2008.
1. How many are sent within the first 14 weeks
The number of Council Tax and NNDR summons sent in the first 14 weeks of each
of the financial years 2000/01 to 2008/09 is included in the attached spreadsheet.
2. What conditions/consideration are used to deicide weather to go to this
stage.
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Freedom of Information request response CRM 766050
North East Lincolnshire Council work in accordance with the Local Government
Finance Acts 1992 (as amended) and 1988 (as amended).
3. Who is responsible to the public for the management of this figure and the
funds it generates
Chief Finance Officer
4. the figure is quite regular from 2003, has there been any reviews to see who
(what sector of the public) is affected by this. IE (do we make sure that this
figure does not include many working poor)
No separate reviews have been undertaken to identify who is affected by this, the
policy is applied consistently to all.
Number of Liability Orders sent
The number of Council Tax and NNDR liability orders sent for the financial years
2000/01 to 2008/09 is included in the attached spreadsheet.
Please be aware that the figures for Council Tax for the financial years 2003/04 to
2007/08 (to date) were supplied to you on 22nd February 2008.
1. How many of this number are already paying previous council tax under
agreement or arrangement
We have estimated that the time needed to cross reference the Council Tax
accounts with an agreement or arrangement in place to identify the number of
liability orders falling into the classification you specified would exceed the
appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours work).
2. What conditions/consideration are used to deicide weather to go to this
stage.
North East Lincolnshire Council work in accordance with the Local Government
Finance Acts 1992 (as amended) and 1988 (as amended).
3. Who is responsible to the public for the management of this figure and the
funds it generates
Chief Finance Officer
4. the figure is quite regular from 2003, has there been any reviews to see who
(what sector of the public) is affected by this. IE (do we make sure that this
figure does not include many working poor)
No separate reviews have been undertaken to identify who is affected by this, the
policy is applied consistently to all.
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5. How many of these liability orders end up being the same amount due from
the public at the end of the year. (i.e. how many get reduced due to changes in
circumstance)
We have estimated that the time needed to check the Council Tax accounts were a
liability order has been raised to identify the number of liability orders falling into the
classification you specified would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours
work).
6. Is someone that's been served a liability order still a successful collection,
(re collection rate)
Yes, if a payment is received within the same financial year as the debt was raised
Profit Generated from liability orders
1. Can I have a complete input and output for this account with relative dates,
for each year from 2000 because I am trying to find out the following
The summary of input and outputs for the Collection Fund for the financial years
2000/01 to 2008/09 was as follows:
Costs Raised
Costs Paid
Court Costs and
Net Costs
on Accounts
to Court
Summons Runs
Costs to Court Per Liability
2000 / 2001
£360,390.00
£6,927.20
£353,462.80
Summonsed £0.70
5 Summons Runs
Costs to Court Per Liability
2001 / 2002
£446,595.00
£8,612.80
£437,982.20
Summonsed £0.70
5 Summons Runs
Costs to Court Per Liability
2002 / 2003
£297,945.00
£4,654.30
£293,290.70
Summonsed £0.70
3 Summons Runs
Costs to Court Per Liability
2003 / 2004
£490,160.00
£7,858.90
£482,301.10
Summonsed £0.70
5 Summons Runs
Costs to Court Per Liability
2004 / 2005
£736,160.00
£10,400.60
£725,759.40
Summonsed £0.70
12 Summons Runs
Costs to Court Per Liability
2005 / 2006
£647,200.00
£12,443.60
£634,756.40
Summonsed £0.70
12 Summons Runs
Costs To Court Per Liability
2006 / 2007
£667,796.00
£38,373.00
£629,423.00
Summonsed £3.00
12 Summons Runs
Costs To Court Per Liability
2007 / 2008
£656,872.00
£35,766.00
£621,106.00
Summonsed £3.00
12 Summons Runs
Costs To Court Per Liability
2008 / 2009
£754,265.00
£29,781.00
£724,484.00
Summonsed £3.00
12 Summons Runs
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Freedom of Information request response CRM 766050
Please be aware that the figures for Council Tax and NNDR for the financial years
2000/01 to 2007/08 (to date) were supplied to you on the 27th February 2008.
We have estimated that to provide a complete breakdown of all the inputs and outs
for the account for financial years requested would exceed the appropriate limit of
£450 (18 hours work).
1. How much of this figure get paid to bailiffs or in respect of bailiffs action
and can it be broken down into reasons (i.e. corrected mistakes in relation to
who's liable, none collectables, incorrect accounts, benefit changes)
As previously confirmed to you in our response of 29th February 2008, none of this
figure is paid to the bailiffs.
2. How much of this figure is used to pay council staff and what staff does it
pay
As previously supplied to you in our response of 22nd February 2008
‘The monies collected are offset against the recovery of Council Tax. This
includes the technological systems in place, employment of staff and
procedures and legislation followed to attain a high return of Council Tax
payments’.
3. Who decides on the break up and payments of this money
The Council maintains a Collection Fund. This account reflects the statutory
requirement to maintain a separate fund which shows the transactions of the Council
in relation to non-domestic rates and the Council Tax, and illustrates the way in
which these have been distributed to preceptors (Police and Fire) and the Council.
The Council’s share of the Collection Fund is shown as income from taxation in the
budget and accounts. This income is part of the general funding of the Council’s
budget requirement and is not attributable to any specific spending.
4. What reviews have been done on this figure and what were there findings.
(probably no reviews)
The Collection Fund is included within the Council’s Statement of Accounts and is
subject to annual audit by the Audit Commission.
5. Who would be responsible for keeping an eye on this figure for the public.
The Council’s Chief Financial Officer (Section 151 Officer) is responsible for the
proper administration of the Council’s financial affairs.
6. How much is used to pay local solicitors and can that be broken down by
solicitor.
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Freedom of Information request response CRM 766050
The payments made to local solicitors for the financial years 2004/05 to 2008/09 was
as follows:
PAYMENTS TO SOLICITORS
YEAR
SOLICITOR
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
2008/9
Grand Total
BEETENSON & GIBBON
£450.00
£450.00
BRIDGE MCFARLAND
£345.00
£3,528.40
£3,873.40
STEPHEN EDE COOK & ASHTON
£1,651.00
£7,410.20
£5,800.95
£269.00
£15,131.15
WILKIN & CHAPMAN
£3,230.10
£35,631.84
£32,831.83
£33,884.20
£33,725.00
£139,302.97
Grand Total
£4,881.10
£43,042.04
£38,632.78
£34,498.20
£37,703.40
£158,757.52
Please be aware that the figures do not reflect any refunds received and they also
include payments to Solicitors for Charging Orders as well.
We are unable to determine costs back to 2000 as different cost codes and practices
were used and we are unable to retrieve the information needed. We have estimated
that the time needed to check the Council Tax accounts to identify payments made
to solicitors would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours work).
Cases sent to bailiffs
The number of cases sent to bailiffs for the financial years 2003/04 to 2008/09 was
as follows:
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
All Years
Council Tax
None
6,753
4,382
4,426
5,345
6,269
27,175
NNDR
None
293
327
354
358
373
1,705
We do not hold information on the number of bankruptcy actions started for the
financial years prior to 2003/04
Please be aware that the figures for Council Tax for the financial years 2004/05 to
2007/08 (to date) were supplied to you on 22nd February 2008.
1. How many of these cases are sent to the bailiff for current year that the
council tax is due for
As cases sent to bailiffs can include debts for more than one financial year we have
estimated that the time needed to check the Council Tax accounts to identify the
number falling into the classification you specified would exceed the appropriate limit
of £450 (18 hours work).
2. How many of the cases sent to the bailiffs end up being corrected
afterwards by the council ()
We have estimated that the time needed to check the Council Tax accounts to
identify the number falling into the classification you specified would exceed the
appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours work).
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3. Who in our council is responsible for reviewing the efficiency of these
action (i.e. who is responsible to the public)
Income & Collection Manager, please refer to the Service Level Agreement
previously provided to you for further details.
4. What reviews have been done in relation to the amount of cases sent and
the impact on the public.
An annual review is undertaken of the number of cases sent to the bailiffs as part of
the overall review of service delivery.
5. How many cases get returned by the bailiffs each year and for what general
reasons
We have estimated that the time needed to identify and check all cases returned by
the bailiffs and as specified in your request would exceed the appropriate limit of
£450 (18 hours work).
The main reasons for returning a case are:
Unable to gain legal access to property
Poor
goods
Customer
gone
away
6 What are the conditions that you give to the bailiffs in relation to there
interactions with the public in relation to collecting (i.e. vulnerable people)
These conditions are detailed in the Service Level Agreement previously supplied to
you.
7. What review have been done into the effectiveness of this method of
collection and what dates were they done.
No review has taken place into the effectiveness of this specified method of
collection. This collection method is best industry practice for the recovery of debts,
where we do not hold information on the customer to undertake other collection
methods.
8. What consideration has been done by the council in relation to the profits
generated by the bailiffs in relation to collecting council tax/nndr and what
were there outcomes
None.
9 How many of the cases that are sent to the bailiffs for people that are not in
receipt of benefit, end up with the people claiming benefits for that or
subsequent years
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Freedom of Information request response CRM 766050
We have estimated that the time needed to cross reference the Council Tax
accounts with benefit claims to identify the number of people falling into the
classification you specified would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours
work).
10 How many cases get sent to the courts/bailiff for people in receipt of
benefits for that year.
We have estimated that the time needed to cross reference the Council Tax
accounts with benefit claims to identify the number of people falling into the
classification you specified would exceed the appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours
work).
11. How much is incorrectly paid to bailiffs by the public each year.
This information is not held by North East Lincolnshire Council.
Other actions taken
1. Bankruptcy threatened
We have estimated that the time needed to check the Council Tax accounts and
identify were a bankruptcy was threatened would exceed the appropriate limit of
£450 (18 hours work).
2. Bankruptcy action started
The number of bankruptcy actions started in each of the financial years requested,
are:
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/2008
2008/2009
All Years
Bankruptcy
11
71
37
15
13
147
We do not hold information on the number of bankruptcy actions started for the
financial years prior to 2004/05
3. Bankruptcy action completed
Can you please clarify what you mean by the term ‘Bankruptcy action completed’?
4. What is the total costs for each of the above actions, (If costable)
The current costs for each of the above actions are
The Costs for Bankruptcy are set out like so:
Official
Receivers
Deposit
£400.00
Court
Fee
£190.00
Affidavit
£7.00
Process Server’s Fee for service of Statutory Demand
£65.00
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Process Server’s Fee for service of Petition (approx)
£65.00
These costs are paid back to the council by the Bankruptee if the court gives a costs
order.
5. How many attachment of earnings do we achieve each year
We have estimated that the time needed to check the Council Tax accounts were an
attachment of earnings has been attempted and achieved would exceed the
appropriate limit of £450 (18 hours work).
6. Please list all further actions taken between liability orders and bankruptcy
The further actions available to the Council between liability orders and bankruptcy
are
Attachment to benefit
Attachment to earnings
Bailiffs
Charging Order
Committal
7. Please list any reviews that you have done on the above figures and point to
the outcome
An overall annual review of service delivery would consider this and link to future
decision making on policy and service delivery.
8 What is the total costs for each of the above actions, (If costable)
The cost of each of the above actions for each of the financial years are:
Committal Costs:
Committal Summons
£240.00 (was only £70.00 up to 13th July 2009)
Warrant with Bail
£105.00 (was £55.00 up to 13th July 2009)
Warrant without Bail
£105.00 (was £70.00 up to 13th July 2009)
Charging Order Costs:
Solicitors costs
£69.50 or £75.50 depending on amount of
the debt
Application for the charging order
£100.00
Land Registry Fee to register charge
£50.00
Official
Copies
£4.00
Fixed
costs
of
£110.00
The collection rates of Council Tax.
The Council Tax collection rates for the financial years 2000/01 to 2008/09 was as
follows:
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Freedom of Information request response CRM 766050
Council Tax %
NNDR %
2000/01
93.50
97.10
2001/02
94.90
98.02
2002/03
93.03
98.22
2003/04
95.20
99.30
2004/05
97.10
99.30
2005/06
97.84
99.74
2006/07
97.71
99.43
2007/08
97.56
99.80
2008/09
97.53
91.82
Please be aware that these figures for the financial years 2000/01 to 2006/07 were
supplied to you on 27th June 2008.
Can you explain how you achieve such a high published collection rate and
how the above figures are reflected in the published rate
Good practice in the delivery of services.
Can you explain what the consequence of a low published collection rate
would have on the staff, senior management and cabinet of the council?
A review of practice and procedures would be undertaken.
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