Council tax

The request was partially successful.

To whom it may concern,

Please can I request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act:

1a) In £, the total amount of Council Tax which was unpaid, by municipal year from 2012/13 and including any arrears in 2018/19 to date);

1b) The total amount of Council Tax, in £, which was owed but never paid by Universal Credit claimants since 2012/13 (broken down by municipal year and including any arrears in 2018/19 to date);

1c) The number of households in receipt of Universal Credit which are currently in arrears on their Council Tax;

2) Since the national introduction of Universal Credit from 2013 onwards, has your authority had to reduce the number of housing officers dealing with benefits queries because of a reduction in government funding? If so, please provide figures for government funding (in £) and staffing numbers (in Full Time Equivalents) before and after these reductions.

If my request cannot be met within cost limits, please can you provide me with advice on how I may refine my request,

Yours faithfully,

Claire Wilde

Freedom Info, Kirklees Borough Council

Dear Ms Wilde

19418 Freedom of Information request - Council tax

I confirm receipt of your information request and that we are dealing with this and will respond to you in due course.

If you are not content with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Requests for internal reviews should be addressed to the Monitoring Officer, 1st Floor, Civic Centre 3, Market Street, Huddersfield HD1 2EY. Alternatively, you can send an email to: [email address].

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of any review you have the right under section 50 of the 2000 Act to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Act. The Information Commissioner’s website is at www.ico.org.uk and gives more information about the role and duties of the Commissioner. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Regards

Information Governance Team
The Democracy Service
Telephone: 01484 221000 (voice activated switchboard – please ask for Freedom of Information)

This email and any attachments are confidential. If you have received it in error - notify the sender immediately, delete it from your system, and do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way. Kirklees Council monitors all emails sent or received.

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Hello,

Is there a response to this overdue FOI request please?

Yours sincerely,

Claire Wilde

Freedom Info, Kirklees Borough Council

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Dear Ms Wilde

FoI 19418 Freedom of Information request - Council tax

The Council sent its response to you on 23 April 2019; please see the attached email.

For ease of refrence, the response was:

1a) In £, the total amount of Council Tax which was unpaid, by municipal year from 2012/13 and including any arrears in 2018/19 to date);

The cumulative arrears (all years) for council tax, the figures below show the current arrears at the end of each financial year:-
2012/13 - £16.65m
2013/14 - £19.54m
2014/15 - £18.92m
2015/16 - £16.2m
2016/17* - £14.5m
2017/18* - £15.4m
2018/19* - £17.25m

* There has been significant rises in net debit since 2016 with the addition of the Adult Social Care % increase in the overall Council Tax increase

1b) The total amount of Council Tax, in £, which was owed but never paid by Universal Credit claimants since 2012/13 (broken down by municipal year and including any arrears in 2018/19 to date);

The Council does not hold this information broken down to this level; please note that as people go on and off UC this will fluctuate daily.

1c) The number of households in receipt of Universal Credit which are currently in arrears on their Council Tax;

The Council does not hold this information broken down to this level.

2) Since the national introduction of Universal Credit from 2013 onwards, has your authority had to reduce the number of housing officers dealing with benefits queries because of a reduction in government funding? If so, please provide figures for government funding (in £) and staffing numbers (in Full Time Equivalents) before and after these reductions.

Housing Benefit is one of the legacy benefits that is being migrated onto UC. The Council is reducing the number of officers by 2 FTEs annually as the staggered migration takes place. The date for mass migration of the remaining working age customers to UC is not yet known as no timetable had been released by the DWP.

If you are not content with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review.  Requests for internal reviews should be addressed to the Monitoring Officer, 1st Floor, Civic Centre 3, Market Street, Huddersfield HD1 2EY.  Alternatively, you can send an email to: [email address]. 

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not content with the outcome of any review you have the right under section 50 of the 2000 Act to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Act.  The Information Commissioner’s website is at www.ico.org.uk and gives more information about the role and duties of the Commissioner.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

Regards

Information Governance Team
The Democracy Service
Telephone: 01484 221000 (voice activated switchboard – please ask for Freedom of Information)

This email and any attachments are confidential. If you have received it in error - notify the sender immediately, delete it from your system, and do not use, copy or disclose the information in any way. Kirklees Council monitors all emails sent or received.

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