Bristol City Council, LGO Decision 13 002 067 (£103 Council Tax Summons costs)

The request was partially successful.

Dear Local Government Ombudsmen,

Background to my request for information.

Please refer to LGO decision notice 13 002 067

http://www.lgo.org.uk/decisions/benefits...

Paragraph 10 in relation to Bristol City Council's Council Tax summons costs:

"10. On 3 April the Council issued a summons for the outstanding amount of £94.99 plus £103 costs. Mr X telephoned the Council querying the costs and then sent an email appealing them. The Council believes the summons costs were correctly incurred and Mr X should pay them."

The LGO agreed with Bristol City Council and its decision was to not uphold the complaint.

In 1997/98, Summons costs made up 73% of the total £30 charged to Council Tax payers for Bristol City Council to obtain a Liability Order through the Magistrates Court:

Issue of Summons - £22.00

Issue of a Liability Order - £8.00

Currently, the Summons costs makes up 100% of the total £103 charged to Council Tax payers:

Issue of Summons - £103.00

Issue of a Liability Order - £0.00

NOTE:

The law provides that court costs are applied in two stages (the issue of a summons and issue of the Liability Order).

For the issue of a summons - This is the individual tax payer's liability charged to their account upon the issue of a summons, prior to the liability order hearing.

For the issue of a Liability Order - This is the additional amount charged to the tax payer's account following the granting of a liability order by magistrates.

Comparing the current costs with those imposed in 1997/98 (with emphasis on the composition), it is evident that the expenditure which makes up the additional amount charged following the granting of a liability order has been incorporated into the costs for the issue of a summons.

Q. Please disclose the legislation which the LGO referred to in agreeing with Bristol City Council that the summons costs were correctly incurred and Mr X should pay them?

Yours faithfully,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

2 Attachments

Dear Ms Saunder

I attach a letter in response to your request below.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook
Information & Records Manager | DL: 020 7217 4734 |
Local Government Ombudsman's office |
www.lgo.org.uk |

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Dear Local Government Ombudsmen,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Local Government Ombudsmen's handling of my FOI request 'Bristol City Council, LGO Decision 13 002 067 (£103 Council Tax Summons costs)'.

Quote:

"Under the Local Government Act 1974 (section 32(2)), the Ombudsman is not permitted to disclose any information obtained in the course of, or for the purposes of, the investigation of a complaint, unless he or she considers it is necessary for the purposes of the investigation (or for other very limited reasons mostly related to legal proceedings)."

Section 32 of the Local Government Act 1974 concerns the "Law of defamation, and disclosure of information". This has no relevance to the information I'm seeking which is patently not privileged or exclusive to the Ombudsman. Further more it can not be considered that the Ombudsman has "obtained" a piece of legislation which of course cannot be secret.

In light of the fact that I'm not asking for personal or confidential data (so appears no exceptions would apply), I would like disclosing the information I requested which was to disclose the legislation which the LGO referred to in agreeing with Bristol City Council that the summons costs were correctly incurred and Mr X should pay them.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Enid Brighton (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

I have it on good authority that Council Tax summonses are not checked individually before they are issued.

Parameters are agreed in advance by the relevant manager and set in its Council Tax processing system relating to the number of days behind and the monetary value etc., and summonses are issued on this basis.

The process is therefore completely automated yet Bristol City Council recharge a cost of £103 to the defendant. It is unlawful to recharge an amount to the defendant which exceeds the council's incurred expenditure.

It is unlikely that BCC could support costs which added to the obvious costs of stationary and postage would bring the authority's expenditure to £103.

Dear Foi Officer,

Will you be responding to my request to review the LGO's decision to refuse disclosing information?

Yours sincerely,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Dear Local Government Ombudsmen,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing a repeat request for an internal review of Local Government Ombudsmen's handling of my FOI request 'Bristol City Council, LGO Decision 13 002 067 (£103 Council Tax Summons costs)'.

Quote:

"Under the Local Government Act 1974 (section 32(2)), the Ombudsman is not permitted to disclose any information obtained in the course of, or for the purposes of, the investigation of a complaint, unless he or she considers it is necessary for the purposes of the investigation (or for other very limited reasons mostly related to legal proceedings)."

Section 32 of the Local Government Act 1974 concerns the "Law of defamation, and disclosure of information". This has no relevance to the information I'm seeking which is patently not privileged or exclusive to the Ombudsman. Further more it can not be considered that the Ombudsman has "obtained" a piece of legislation which of course cannot be secret.

In light of the fact that I'm not asking for personal or confidential data (so appears no exceptions would apply), I would like disclosing the information I requested which was to disclose the legislation which the LGO referred to in agreeing with Bristol City Council that the summons costs were correctly incurred and Mr X should pay them.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/b...

Yours faithfully,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Dear Foi Officer,

Has there been any headway made with the review?

Yours sincerely,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Dear Foi Officer,

I effectively explained in my request for a review that the response I was given was nonsense. I have subsequently re-submitted the request and prompted several times for a reply. The existence of the Local Government Ombudsman is purely to aid and abet local authorities to get away with defrauding its residents, this to me is obvious. Consequently, the taxpayer is being defrauded by an amount equal to the funding that the LGO is given.

When will the review be responded to?

Yours sincerely,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

Dear Ms Saunder

The review request was responded to on 26 January. You received a letter from Heather Lees covering your review requests on three of your FOI requests to us - our references 14/125, 14/126 and 14/134.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook
Information & Records Manager | DL: 020 7217 4734 |
Local Government Ombudsman's office |
www.lgo.org.uk |

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Mr j morgan left an annotation ()

it could be helpful if everyone that has suffered injustice by the biased totally corrupt lgo sent/ emailed their records to
Margaret Hodge
Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA

and ask her to look into this shambolic department. if anyone knows how to go about this it would be very helpful.

Dear Foi Officer,

Your reference numbers do not appear to refer to the cases which you are describing. In any event, please see my email dated 26 January 2015 which may or may not refer to those cases.

"Your response contains no useful information relating to this FOI request. I therefore ask that a second attempt is made."

Yours sincerely,

Becky Saunder

Foi Officer, The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

This is to acknowledge receipt of your email. If you are making a request for information, you should get an acknowledgement from us within the next 2-3 days with a reference number and a date by which we will respond to your request. Please note, however, that this address is only for use in relation to requests for information made under the Freedom of Information Act and subject access requests made under the Data Protection Act. If your email is in relation to a new complaint please follow this link to a complaint form<http://www.lgo.org.uk/forms/ShowForm.asp...> or call 0300 061 0614 to speak to one of our Advisers, as the FOI Officer cannot deal with your complaint.

NOTICE - This message contains information intended only for the use of the addressee named above. If you have received this message in error please advise us at once and do not make any use of the information.

Mr j morgan left an annotation ()

I really sympathise with you as i think the lgo and foi is a farce. I think my own case was dealt with by an incompetent lgo person who referred to me being in a place where the incident NEVER took place, and when i pointed this out, they just ignored it. They do not seem to carry out any investigation as i asked if they had been to the sight and they said no. they then said the Ombudsman had investigated it. (she did, some months earlier, but SHE DID NOT INVESTIGATE MY COMPLAINT) when i searched for info i soon discovered that what they actually do is take bits and pieces from a previous Ombudsman ruling and tailor it to fit there own response. i think they are a joke and a waste of taxpayer money. they are not even legally trained, AND AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED THAY HAVE NO SCRUPLES WHATSOEVER. The majority of them worked on the local councils. the sooner they are all sacked and replaced with good honest unbiased people that are interested in justice the better. if you havnt already seen the farce and injustice that i had to endure you can read about it here :-http://howsleepingdogslie.blogspot.co.uk/

P Freeman left an annotation ()

The FoIA is good as far as it goes - you should definitely take this case to the ICO as they will check that:

a. The exemption relied upon by the LGO is allowable;

b. That the LGO dealt with your request for Internal Review in a reasonable timescale;

c. That the answer itself was valid.

But even if you get a Decision Notice in your favour, if the LGO wants to play games it can be very half hearted in improving.

As for the LGO itself, it is generally staffed with ex-local government officers rather than lawyers, and is pretty biased in favour of the local government organisation. It will only look at individual cases of mal-administration and not any more general issues with a council. I share your opinion that it is not fit for purpose to ensure that councils do not abuse their power.

Becky Saunder (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

There is one consolation to come out of this, which is that a recent High Court judgment has ruled this and millions of similar cases unlawful. So, whether the LGO continues to deny it or not, if it were a true watchdog organisation looking out for the taxpayers who fund it, it would review all similar cases where it originally sided with the local authority and uphold the aggrieved resident's complaint and ask the council to pay compensation.

R (Nicolson) v Tottenham Magistrates [2015] EWHC 1252 (Admin)

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admi...