Bailiffs Code of Conduct

Dear Mr Leach

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request which was received by
the Vale of White Horse District Council on 12 April 2011.

Please accept this email as confirmation that your request has been
received and forwarded to the relevant department and that a response will
be sent to you within 20 working days. The reference number for this
request is 11/9.

I trust that this email is sufficient to assure you that your request is
being dealt with. However, should you have any queries in the meantime,
please do not hesitate to contact the FOI team at
[1][Vale of White Horse District Council request email] .

Regards

FOI Team
Vale of White Horse District Council

>>> Phil Leach <[FOI #68517 email]> 12/04/2011
21:31 >>>
Dear Vale of White Horse District Council,

Please can you send me a copy of the code of conduct that you have
for Bailiffs working on your behalf.

Also I need to see a copy of the service level agreement that you
have with Capita, and Equita, especially regarding dealing with
complaints.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Leach

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Dear Mr Leach

Thank you for your Freedom of Information requests, received on 12 April 2011, which has been logged and passed to me to respond accordingly.

Under Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the 2000 Act) you are entitled to be informed in writing whether the council holds the information specified in your request and, if that is the case, to have that information communicated to you unless any of the statutory exemptions apply. The information you have requested is:

"Please can you send me a copy of the code of conduct that you have for Bailiffs working on your behalf.

Also I need to see a copy of the service level agreement that you have with Capita, and Equita, especially regarding dealing with complaints."

I have considered your request and can confirm we do hold some of the information you have requested and I do not believe any of the statutory exemptions apply to your requests. The council can supply you with a copy of the bailiff code of conduct and this is attached (document 1). However, there is not a "service level agreement" in place. What the council does have is the specification that was issued to potential service providers when the council conducted a tender exercise for its financial services contract (of which council tax forms part). Adherence to this specification forms part of Capita's contractual terms and conditions. The sections most relevant to your freedom of information request are "customer contact and care" and "administration, billing, collection and recovery of council tax" - these sections are attached (document 2).

In addition to this Capita is required to act in accordance with the council's published complaints procedure which is available from the council's web site www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk

Please treat this as the council's formal response under the 2000 Act. If you are not satisfied with the decision I have made in response to your request, you may complain under the council's complaints procedure. If you remain dissatisfied after following that procedure, you have the right under Section 50 of the 2000 Act to complain to the Information Commissioner if you feel the council has not dealt with your request properly. You can contact the Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (telephone number: 01625 545745). You can also find further information at www.ico.gov.uk.

If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards

Vicky

________________________________
Vicky Johnson
Revenues & Benefits Client Officer

Finance
Vale of White Horse District Council &
South Oxfordshire District Council

Direct Line: 01235 540318 (Abingdon - VWHDC) Text phone users add 18001 before you dial
Email : [email address]

Visit us at:
www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk
www.southoxon.gov.uk

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