By who's authority have you got to demand men/women pay for council tax as a Corporate Council...?
Dear Hereford City Council,
1] Have you got contracts from tenants/home owners agreeing to your terms and conditions, is this explained in your paperwork ?
2] Who is your 151 officer HCC ?
3] As you outsource services to private contractors, by who's authority has this been granted?
4] Can you show me a contract were it is mandatory for the public to pay council tax or any other services from you ?
5] By who's authority stipulates that you make your own court orders when man/woman does not pay council tax ?
6] How can you make demands as a council to make men/women pay for services, when man/woman does not have a contract, Hereford City Council is just a name, not human ?
7] Has government granted you to be Courts in our absence or presence ?
8] Are you public servants ?
9] Who are you insured with regarding Public Liability Insurance for 2017 ?
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
Dear Mr Danby,
The Freedom of Information Act requires me to supply you with information that is to currently published by the council but is nonetheless in the public domain. Some of your questions are a little unclear as to what information you are seeking, especially in the context of collection of council tax. Before answering your specific points you need to understand the basic legal position. Hereford City Council is a parish council existing under law, most significantly the Local Government Act 1972 and the Localism Act 2011 (although various other enactments give us powers or impose duties these are the main ones). Under these laws we have the power to fix a precept, which is the amount of money to be collected by Herefordshire Council along with their council tax. This is similar to the position of the West Mercia Police and the Herefordshire and Worcestershire Fire and Rescue service who also precept for their services. The whole liability for collecting council tax, and all precepts falls upon Herefordshire Council who then pass over our precept to us. In law they are the billing authority, we are one of the precepting authorities.
In that context, and assuming in all cases the questions you ask refer specifically to collection of Council Tax the answers are as follows :
1) No. This is entirely unnecessary as our tax levying powers and your duties as a tax payer are defined in statute law not a personal contract.
2) I am Responsible Financial Officer as part of my role as Town Clerk.
3) In terms of collecting council tax we have no role and therefore we outsource nothing to private contractors.
4) as 1) above this is not a contract it is a matter of statute law. Any demand you receive from Herefordshire Council will stipulate which sections of which statutes apply.
5) I don't understand this question, but in any case it is not relevant to our role as a precepting, and not a billing, authority.
6) This seems like the same question as 1) and 4) and the same answer applies.
7) No
8) This is not really a factual question - I would certainly accept that description of what we do but it is somewhat of a matter of opinion.
9) Our insurance is with Zurich Mutual, although I have no objection whatsoever to telling you that I do wonder what it has to do with any of your other questions about council tax.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Steve Kerry,
As you take responsibility for replying to this FOI request in response, are you saying you are factually correct ?
By who's authority are you stating man/woman has responsibility to pay council tax, who are the levying powers? You have not answered my question Mr Kerry".
Statutes/acts are by consent, show me a man/woman that has stipulated they will pay tax without consent in full disclosure Mr Kerry ?
So as you are Responsible Financial Officer how many other roles have you got Mr Kerry in full disclosure ?
Question four you state you do not out source anything, so are you saying you have your own star chambers for alleged court cases or hire a room for the councils conveyance in full disclosure Mr Kerry ?
In question five, you state you do not understand, but you state it is not your relevant role, so can you elaborate on what you do not understand Mr Kerry in full disclosure ?
Show me the law that states men/women have no right to refuse to pay for council tax in regards question one. Are you now stating for the record" that as a corporate company you are above the law Mr Kerry, can you elaborate with full disclosure ?
Question seven i require full disclosure for the record, no does not explain a response, please elaborate".
It is was well known throughout the UK that councils are hiring court rooms for administrating council tax, the COURTS are very familiar with this, are you stating otherwise Mr Kerry in full disclosure ?
Are you aware of the Fraud and Perjury 1911 and a crime under the Administration of Justice Act Mr Kerry ?
Anyone except a Court issuing a document which appears to be from a Court is breaking the law are you aware of this Mr Kerry, will you take responsibility Mr Kerry as Town Clerk for the City of Hereford ?
In question eight, you state that it's not really a factual question ( i suppose hiring courts is not a factual question either) please elaborate as i require full disclosure for the record, either your a public servant or not ?
Do Zurich Mutual have a address and phone number, plus i require your policy number details and a copy of your indemnity insurance for full disclosure for the record.
By the way Mr Kerry, you can address me as peter, am certainly no legal name for the record".
Kind regards
peter danby and associates
Dear Peter,
Dealing with your points in order -
Yes all information I have supplied you with is factually correct as far as I am aware.
I am simply telling you as a matter of fact that council tax is levied under law, not be agreement. The relevant legislation is the Council Tax (Regulation and Enforcement) Act 1992
With respect your next point simply makes no sense. Personal consent is not required once Parliament has passed a statute and it has received Royal Assent, it is the law.
As Town Clerk I am the general manager of the City Council and head of its staff team. Being RFO and holding the s151 role is part of that.
No, I am saying that we do not collect Council Tax, nor do we initiate any enforcement action through the courts. That is all done by the Billing Authority which is Herefordshire Council.
I did not understand the question because we do not raise any court orders in respect of Council Tax. I think that is now clarified by my answers above.
I have identified the law as it relates to council tax, clearly I am not saying that the City Council is above the law.
On question seven you asked if the government had granted us to be courts in your absence or presence. The answer Is no, it has not. I cannot elaborate further. We do not hire rooms for use as courts. We no issue documents purporting be from courts, and we never have. I have checked the terms of the Perjury Act 1911, it has relevance to this matter. I do not believe the Council or I have committed any offence under any regulations relating to the Administration of Justice as we have not invoked any judicial processes.
"Public servant" is a generic term used to describe those who are paid through public expenditure to deliver services to the community (and to perform the necessary administration to enable that including raising revenue). I consider that it is an accurate description of what the staff here do. However, I am not aware that the term has a specific legal meaning defined in statute, so some people feel it applies to local government workers some do not.
You can obtain Zurich Mutual's contact details from their website. If you supply me with your postal address I send you a hard copy of our certificate of public liability insurance which will include details of our policy number and indemnity level.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Steve Kerry,
So you are stating that acts/statutes are law, so can you explain in your own words the difference between law and acts/statutes ? Does man/woman have inalienable rights of the Magna Carta, or does parliament overrule without a man or woman's consent ?
Mr Kerry are you saying parliament is god" are politicians our masters? Has man/woman consented with parliament regarding corporate council tax, whats makes parliament supreme ?
Can you explain is the council a man or woman in order for a contract to take place, where is the wet signature of the living entity so called council ?
Why does public servant have to be defined in statute for a common sense reply ? Can you name a public servant who works in local government who is not a public servant ?
Question seven you asked if the government had granted us to be courts in your absence or presence. The answer Is no, it has not. I cannot elaborate further. We do not hire rooms for use as courts. We no issue documents purporting be from courts, and we never have (your own words). Can you please explain more clearly ?
Furthermore please scan your public liability insurance online and share the link in this FOI request, you do not need my personal address.
Have you got indemnity insurance, can i see them online in this public FOI request please ?
Do you have a copy of a liability order issued from the court, applied from Hereford Council and a link to verify the document on this public domain site ?
Who is the man/woman responsible from Hereford Council who is responsible for issuing enforcement action ?
So Mr Kerry you have other job roles in the council ? What are those other job roles please ?
So are also saying council is the law as they are levied, so whats the difference between laws and statutes Mr Kerry ?
Kind regards
peter danby and associates
Dear Steve Kerry,
1] Furthermore is it true according to legislation that if a complaint laid to the court is heard by a clerk to the justices, that the clerk who heard the complaint must authorize the summons, and like wise if a JP heard the complaint, then that JP must authorize the summons ?
2] Is it not true according to legislation, that if no individual consideration is applied to the information laid to the court under the complaint laid, and subsequently, a summons is issued, that this is tantamount to maladministration, as per lord wiggly in Lord Widgery C.J in Regina v. Brentford Justices. Ex parte Catlin ?
“…it must be remembered that before a summons or warrant is issued the information must be laid before a magistrate and he must go through the judicial exercise of deciding whether a summons or warrant ought to be issued or not. If a magistrate authorises the issue of a summons without having applied his mind to the information then he is guilty of dereliction of duty and if in any particular justices clerk’s office a practice goes on of summonses being issued without information being laid before the magistrate at all, then a very serious instance of maladministration arises which should be reported to the authorities without delay…” Do you agree Mr Kerry ?
Kind regards
peter danby and associates
Peter,
This continuous communication is now outside the scope of the FOI. You have asked factual questions, who is the s151 officer, I have told you. You have asked what else I do, I have told you I am the Town Clerk. I will scan a copy of my job description to you so you can see the range of my duties. You have asked who are insurance is with and I have told you. I will scan a copy of our public liability insurance certificate, if you want to follow up any more communication with Zurich Mutual you will need to contact them yourself I am not responsible for answering on behalf of third parties. That is also true of Herefordshire Council, if you questions about their enforcement powers or practices you must address them to them, not to me.
Within the FOI Act I can decide to post items and ask for an address, but if you prefer scanned copies sent via email I am happy to do that.
The rest of your comments can be answered with one point which is that the nature of elective government is that the public elect law makers who through Parliament make laws which are binding on us all. Parliament is not god, god is god. Statues, laws and acts are synonyms. These areas of constitutional interpretation and political theory are not susceptible to the Freedom of Information Act and I am therefore concluding the correspondence on them with that comment.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Peter,
I am sure Lord Widgery was correct, although I am not lawyer, I cannot offer you personal legal advice and if you think you have a case under this judgement you should seek qualified professional advice as to how to proceed.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Steve Kerry,
In what part of my FOI request have i asked for LEGAL advice ?
Are you stating for and on the record as i do not vote, that i have to abide by MPs statutes/acts which are not our inalienable rights of the Magna Carta of 1215 ?
Furthermore i do not have to supply my address details to you regarding public liability insurance/indemnity insurance, there is no reason why you cannot send me a link to them on this FOI request". I take it you are refusing to comply Mr Kerry ?
Mr Kerry are you refusing a internal review of this FOI request ?
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
You asked for my evaluation of the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice on a case I am not familiar with. I am not qualified to sit in judgement on his judgement.
Yes you are bound by the law of the land whether you chose to vote or not is irrelevant.
The FOI does require that you confirm your address, but I am not insisting on that and will in due course send you the information you seek.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Steve Kerry,
Show me the law that states i have to give my personal address in a FOI request ? Show me a link that states this please". As i have stated you can post a link in this public domain for the details i asked for.
Law of the land, does mean natural law, not statues, your definition is rather vague, please elaborate in more detail please.
In what part of this FOI request have i asked for legal advice Mr Kerry ? Please elaborate in detail......
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
Freedom of Information Act 2000 Section 8 .1 .B
You second point is meaningless - natural law is a philosophical concept found in political theory
I have l already answered your third point, you appear to asking for my opinion on a court judgement, I am not prepared to offer that as I am unqualified to do so.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
Show me the law that states i have to give my personal address in a FOI request ? Show me a link that states this please". As i have stated you can post a link in this public domain for the details i asked for.
If you are no longer going to reply, may i suggest you state this for and on the record".
Kind regards,
peter danby & associates
Peter Danby left an annotation ()
Personally, i am not required to show my postal address or email address on this public domain. Nobody has ever asked me on this site to provide my personal details in a FOI request, why has this occurred when contacting Hereford Council ?
Dear Mr Danby,
I have quoted the relevant section and have checked with the Information Commissioner who advises that an address could be an email or a postal address. I am therefore happy to send you the two documents you seek to your email address within the time limit allowed under the Act namely our public liability insurance certificate and a copy of my job description. Following the IC's advice I will not be engaging in further correspondence about the nature of law making, natural law, Magna Carta or any other philosophical or jurisprudential points which do not permit an answer consisting of me giving you information as opposed to opinion on academic or theoretical questions.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
There is no legislation stating that i have to supply you with my email address or postal address on a public domain such as whatdotheyknow.com "confidentiality comes to mind". Plus this was checked up prior to you phoning the ICO.......
I asked you to post a link on this web page, but you have refused stating you require a postal address or email address, so i take it this concludes this FOI request ?
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
Mr Danby,
I can only conclude that you are deliberately misunderstanding me in order to be vexatious. I have confirmed that I will reply to you by email, I already have the address, it is the one which is shown on your emails as they come to me and which I have used. You have asked for two pieces of factual information, my duties as town clerk and our insurance certificate. I will send them to you within the time limit required under the FOI Act.
I will not enter into any more pointless argument or respond to any more gratuitous misinterpretations of what I saying to you in the simplest and most direct terms.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
Am definitely not being vexatious, your assumptions/presumptions are out of context, but have been duly noted.
There is no point in more conjecture with you Mr Kerry, it's getting us nowhere".
I await the details i asked for in due course in a email which you have stated you have the details of.
Kind regards,
peter danby
Dear Mr Danby,
In answer to your request for information about our insurance arrangements
I attach a copy of our public liability insurance certificate.
In answer to your question about what else I do apart from acting as the
Council’s Responsible Financial Officer I attach a copy of my job
description.
If there is any other FACTUAL information you require let me know. I will
not however engage in theoretical debates about the British constitution
or related matters.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
I have noticed your job description is from 2008, have you a more up to date job description ?
Trouble i have is understanding why should the public pay council tax for UK G4S Police, they are a private company who have no contract with the public to pay for there policy enforcers".
Plus all UK councils are corporations, all private companies, masquerading as so called public authorities.
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
Dear Mr Danby,
No the JD has remained the same as it covers all my present duties.
My council makes no use whatsoever of G4S - I cannot comment on what other councils do.
Your third point is another journey into semantics not a request for information.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
G4s security own the UK police, i mentioned why does men/women have to pay council tax to a privately owned company? You might as well add any other privately owned company, this is not lawful"!
To suggest council tax is by the Authority of Parliament, but Parliament has no such authority and is bound by Constitutional Law, specifically Article 9 Bill of Rights 1689 which states explicitly that Parliament can not prejudice the Rights of the British people.
You obviously don't know the truth Mr Kerry, please read this read the article below from Mr Thorold.
(Police and Crime Commissioner is currently not in charge of UK G4s police for the West
Mercia area).
R.Thorold
FOI Officer
Police and Crime Commissioners Office
West Mercia
Complaints
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
This has nothing to do with the FOI. As matter of constitutional law a Parliament cannot bind future Parliaments. Thus the Bill of Rights amended previous rights, subsequent laws have amended the Bill of Rights.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
Thank you for showing me a copy of Hereford Councils public liability insurance details, but i fail to see how Hereford Council can be covered as a private company (corporation). Surely public liability insurance would only cover a so called authority if it was a public authority ?
As councils around the UK are private business, public liability insurance would be void, just like council tax ?
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
Dear Mr Danby,
That is completely wrong. Local authorities are insured as local authorities, they are not private companies. We carry the appropriate insurance.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
I think you should take a look at this information below as i doubt your response regarding Hereford Council not being a private company.
UK Flag Blueschool Street, Maylord Orchards, Hereford, Herefordshire, HR1 2DT
ACTIVE Accounts: Not filed Age: Not Filed Directors: Company No: L03931961
SUMMARY
ABOUT
SENIOR EXECUTIVE
CREDIT RISK
CHARGES
Company Information
Company Age
N/A
Business Activity
General Public Administration Activities
Company Status
ACTIVE
Premise Type
Unclassified
Company Type
Non-limited Business
Number Of Employees
1
Company Number
L03931961
SIC code
84110
Country of Registration
UK
Kind regards
peter danby and associates
This is becoming ludicrous. Hereford City Council is not a private company, end of discussion.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
The information i have given you is the truth and is not ludicrous as you state".
I would also be interested in seeing the form for claiming on Hereford Councils Public Indemnity Insurance please.
Mr Kerry i would like a internal revue of this FOI request in due coarse or are you going to refuse me this aspect as well ?
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
Dear Mr Danby,
When you made a valid request for information I responded to it. If you believe you have a public liability claim against this council you need to say what it is. If I decide to involve our insurers I will do so.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Steve Kerry,
Hereford Council is a private company like every other council, and as that's the case' no man or women should be paying as this is not by consent.......
Kind regards,
peter danby and associates
S. Jones left an annotation ()
Trying to answer a freeman on the land as if they are a rational being is as fruitful an activity as nailing jelly to the ceiling. Mr Kerry has been heroic in trying to respond, but made the mistake of trying to treat the questions as if they were made in the spirit of enquiry, rather than a series of rhetorical questions making unsupported assertions.
Interesting to see a fictional version of R v Brentford JJ ex p Catlin coming onto the pseudolegal armoury. The case actually says:
Held, refusing the application, that the validity of the proceedings before the justices depended on the information not on the summons, which was merely a convenient form for bringing a defendant before the court; and that any defect or invalidity that there might have been in the summons was irrelevant in the circumstances because the document laid before the justices on the specified date was sufficient to constitute the information against the applicant; so that, when she appeared before the justices within six months of the offence, they were then and thenceforth clothed with jurisdiction and her conviction was unassailable. A justice's facsimile signature may properly be applied by rubber stamp to a summons by the justice, or by a clerk or his employee with the justice's general or specific authority." And that's all.
Utter nonsense
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Mr Kerry,
All UK councils are registered as companies, prove me wrong" i look forward to it".
Regards,
peter danby and associates
Peter Danby left an annotation ()
S. Jones,
So councils are registered at companies house as private businesses, so that does not constitute a private business in your eyes ?
Some councils might be registered with companies house if they are trading. The City Council is not a private company. This has nothing to do with your liability for council tax. I will not respond to any more correspondence from you unless it is a genuine request for information, which I haven't already supplied.
Kind Regards
Steve Kerry
Town Clerk for the City of Hereford
Hereford City Council
The Town Clerk’s Office
Town Hall
St Owen Street
Hereford
HR1 2PJ
01432 260429
Dear Steve Kerry,
You have your opinion but i deal with facts and i know Hereford Council like lots of other councils are private companies.
Lots of cognitive dissonance going on, and lots of people are frightened of the truth"!
Men/women should should see what council expenditure is spent on at the end of the financial year on official documents !
Regards,
peter danby & associates
We work to defend the right to FOI for everyone
Help us protect your right to hold public authorities to account. Donate and support our work.
Donate Now
Peter Danby left an annotation ()
I wonder if they are complying with the Magna Carta of 1215". Were does the council get it's authority from to demand council tax since article 61 of Magna Carta 1215 has been in effect?