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

FOI (Freedom of Information), Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council

Dear Sir/Madam

 

RE:     Freedom Of Information Act 2000 – INFORMATION Request

 

We acknowledge your request for information about council tax received by
the Data Disclosure and Records Officer on 18^th March 2019.

 

We are considering your request and you will receive the Councils full
response within the [1]statutory time limit of 20 working days, which in
this instance is no later than 15^th April 2019, unless the information is
exempt or we require additional time to consider whether disclosure is in
the public interest in accordance with [2]Section 2 of the Act.  

 

The [3]Act defines a number of exemptions which may prevent release of the
information you have requested. Before we provide the information we will
consider whether it is proper to release it and if any of the exemption
categories do apply then the information may not be released. We will tell
you if this is the case, and you will have a right of appeal. If the
information you request contains reference to a third party then they may
be consulted prior to a decision being taken on whether or not to release
the information to you. You may have to pay a fee for this information; we
will consider this and let you know. If a fee is applicable the Council
will issue you with a Fees Notice. The 20 working day time limit will not
start until we receive your payment. If you have any queries or concerns,
please contact the Data Disclosure and Records Officer on 01685 725000 or
[4][Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]. You can find out more about the Act from the
Information Commissioner at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales)

2^nd Floor

Churchill House

Churchill Way

Cardiff

CF10 2HH

 

Tel: 0330 414 6421 

Email: [5][email address]

Website: [6]www.ico.org.uk

 

Responses to completed requests for information are published online
within our disclosure log. Our disclosure log is located in the find it
section of our external website ([7]www.merthyr.gov.uk). Please click
[8]HERE to view our disclosure log.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Swyddog Datgelu Data a Chofnodion/Data Disclosure and Records Officer

Tîm Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth/Information Governance Team

Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful/Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Council

 

Canolfan Dinesig/Civic Centre

Stryd Y Castell/Castle Street

Merthyr Tudful/Merthyr Tydfil

CF47 8AN/CF47 8AN

Ffon/Tel: 01685 725000

E-bost/E-mail: [9][Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]

 

Croesawn ni ohebu yn y Gymraeg/We welcome correspondence in Welsh.

Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd hyn ddim yn arwain at oedi.

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and this will not lead to a delay.

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw ffeiliau a drosglwyddir gydag ef yn gyfrinachol
ac wedi'u bwriadu ar gyfer pwy bynnag y cyfeirir ef ato neu atynt. Mae
cynnwys yr e-bost hwn cynrychioli barn y sawl a enwir uchod, felly nid
ydyw'n dilyn ei fod yn cynrychioli barn Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr
Tudful.

Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful
Canolfan Dinesig
Stryd Y Castell
Merthyr Tudful
CF47 8AN

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. The contents of this e-mail represent the views of the
individual(s) named above and do not necessarily represent the views of
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Civic Centre
Castle Street
Merthyr Tydfil
CF47 8AN

Teleffon\Telephone: 01685 725000

[10]http://www.merthyr.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000...
2. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000...
3. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000...
4. mailto:[Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.ico.org.uk/
7. http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/
8. http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/English/Servic...
9. mailto:[Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]
10. http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/

FOI (Freedom of Information), Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council

Dear Sir/Madam

RE:     Freedom Of Information Act 2000 – INFORMATION Request

We have considered your request and provide the following information:

 

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);

 

Year Amount
2018    1,240,843.22
 2017        680,114.97
2016        496,148.08
2015        325,768.53
2014        206,222.12
2013        140,281.41
2012          99,569.23

 

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);

Information not held

 

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

Information not held

 

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.

N/A

 

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your
own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for
the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial
publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder. Most
documents supplied by this department will have been produced by
government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find details on
the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright from [1]The National
Archives.

 

We supply this based on your original request. If this is not what you
wanted or if you feel we have not fully understood your request please do
not hesitate to contact us to clarify your exact requirements. If you have
any queries or concerns or are in any way dissatisfied with the handling
of your request and you wish to make a complaint please contact the
Information Governance Team on 01685 725000 or [2][Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]. If
you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint please contact
the Councils Complaints Team on 01685 725000 or
[3][email address], alternatively you may wish to submit a
complaint using the Councils [4]online complaints form. You can find out
more about the Act from the Information Commissioner at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office (Wales)

2^nd Floor

Churchill House

Churchill Way

Cardiff

CF10 2HH

 

Tel: 0330 414 6421 

Email: [5][email address]

Website: [6]www.ico.org.uk

Responses to completed requests for information are published online
within our disclosure log. Our disclosure log is located on our external
website ([7]www.merthyr.gov.uk). Please click [8]HERE to view our
disclosure log.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Swyddog Datgelu Data a Chofnodion/Data Disclosure and Records Officer

Tîm Llywodraethu Gwybodaeth/Information Governance Team

Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful/Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Council

 

Canolfan Dinesig/Civic Centre

Stryd Y Castell/Castle Street

Merthyr Tudful/Merthyr Tydfil

CF47 8AN/CF47 8AN

Ffon/Tel: 01685 725000

E-bost/E-mail: [9][Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]

 

Croesawn ni ohebu yn y Gymraeg/We welcome correspondence in Welsh.

Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd hyn ddim yn arwain at oedi.

We welcome correspondence in Welsh and this will not lead to a delay.

Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw ffeiliau a drosglwyddir gydag ef yn gyfrinachol
ac wedi'u bwriadu ar gyfer pwy bynnag y cyfeirir ef ato neu atynt. Mae
cynnwys yr e-bost hwn cynrychioli barn y sawl a enwir uchod, felly nid
ydyw'n dilyn ei fod yn cynrychioli barn Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr
Tudful.

Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Merthyr Tudful
Canolfan Dinesig
Stryd Y Castell
Merthyr Tudful
CF47 8AN

This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are
addressed. The contents of this e-mail represent the views of the
individual(s) named above and do not necessarily represent the views of
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council
Civic Centre
Castle Street
Merthyr Tydfil
CF47 8AN

Teleffon\Telephone: 01685 725000

[10]http://www.merthyr.gov.uk

References

Visible links
1. http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
2. mailto:[Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. https://eform.merthyr.gov.uk/default.asp...
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.ico.org.uk/
7. http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/
8. http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/council/data-p...
9. mailto:[Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council request email]
10. http://www.merthyr.gov.uk/