Council Tax prosecutions – pre & post benefit reforms

Ron made this Freedom of Information request to North East Lincolnshire Council This request has been closed to new correspondence. Contact us if you think it should be reopened.

The request was partially successful.

Dear North East Lincolnshire Council,

Please supply under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the following:-

A) number of Council Tax Summons issued and Liability Orders granted broken down into each recovery cycle / application to the Magistrates court in the period from 1st April 2013 to date.

B) corresponding data but for 2012

Yours faithfully,

Ron

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Ron

I am pleased to acknowledge your request for information, which has been allocated the reference number 5782_1314

Your request has been passed to the relevant department for processing and you can expect your response within the 20 working day limit. If it will take us longer than 20 working days to respond to you, we will inform you of this and provide you with the expected date for receiving a response.

Further information about how we will deal with your Freedom of Information requests is available on our website at: http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/council/the-co....

Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information or assistance quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

Feedback Officer
North East Lincolnshire Council

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PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

 
Dear Sir
 
Thank you for your information request, reference number 5782/1314
 
I wish to confirm that North East Lincolnshire Council holds the following
information
 
A)number of Council Tax Summons issued and Liability Orders granted broken
down into each recovery cycle / application to the Magistrates court in
the period from 1st April 2013 to date.
 
B)corresponding data but for 2012
 
Month   Summons L/O issued
Apr-12  501             412
May-12  2356            1594
Jun-12  960             845
Jul-12  779             657
Aug-12  669             572
Sep-12  664             557
Oct-12  685             573
Nov-12  666             570
Dec-12  638             487
Jan-13  773             593
Feb-13  784             613
Mar-13  550             441
Apr-13  460             371
May-13  3080            2020
Jun-13  2702            1842
Jul-13  1164            948
Aug-13  1000            814
Sep-13  945             not available as hearing 4.10.13
 
 
 
 
If you are unhappy with the response you have received, you have the right
to request an internal review by the Council. If following this you are
still dissatisfied you may contact the Office of the Information
Commissioner. If you wish to request an internal review, please contact me
and I will make the necessary arrangements.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Feedback Officer
 
North East Lincolnshire Council
 
 
 

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Dear PPD - FOI,

Thank you for responding to this request. The figures highlight the effects recent benefit reforms have had on the ability for householders to pay their council tax liability.

A comparison between 2012 and 2013 of the months May to August indicates that the number of summonses issued in 2013 (after the effect of reforms) increased by the following percentages:

May – 31%
June – 180%
July – 49%
August – 49%

Calculated as an average this is around 67%.

In 2012, North East Lincolnshire Council raised standard costs of £70 for each application to the Magistrates' court for a summons.

This suggests that for May to August 2012, costs raised through issuing summonses (4,764) would have been £333,480 (4,764 x £70).

Any employee working as part of a council's revenues & benefits team knows that the principle factor determining the level of summons costs imposed on each individual (costs reasonably incurred by the authority) is dependent on the number of defendants between which the total cost is split. In other words, the summons cost per individual must decrease in a proportional amount to an increase in applications to the court.

Now for May to August 2013, the number of summons issued was 7,946. The cost incurred by the council for this period is £333,480 (implied by costs raised for the same period in 2012).

A simple calculation using the figures available indicates that the costs claimed per individual should be around £42 (£333,480 divided by 7,946), the higher figure of 7,946 being due to the effects of benefit reforms.

Has North East Lincolnshire Council reviewed the standard level it claims for costs in the Magistrates' court to reflect the new levels of applications? If not has the Magistrates' court made any adjustment to the level of costs it awards North East Lincolnshire Council in respect of costs?

Yours sincerely,

Ron

Dear PPD - FOI,

Although my previous calculation was only to demonstrate the effect of higher levels of liability order applications, I neglected to include costs which are attributable to an increased number of applications.

These are the Magistrates court fees of £3 for each application to the court for the issue of a summons. There will be postage costs too etc for serving the summons.

The cost estimated at £42 post benefit reform would with the fixed costs included make that figure in the region of £44.

7,946 – 4,764 = 3,182

3,182 x £4 = £12,728

£12,728 + £333,480 = £346,208

£346,208 divided by 7,946 = £43.57

Yours sincerely,

Ron

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Ron

I am pleased to acknowledge your requests for information (emails received 24th September 2013 12:25pm and 1:35pm), which has been allocated the reference number 5851_1314

Your request has been passed to the relevant department for processing and you can expect your response within the 20 working day limit. If it will take us longer than 20 working days to respond to you, we will inform you of this and provide you with the expected date for receiving a response.

Further information about how we will deal with your Freedom of Information requests is available on our website at: http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/council/the-co....

Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information or assistance quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

Feedback Officer
Resources Directorate

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Dear PPD - FOI,

I notice you have allocated a new reference number (5851_1314) to my query.

I don't consider my query to be a new freedom of information request simply a question to which a yes or no answer would suffice, i.e has the council's summons costs, since the benefit changes were introduced, continued to be imposed at the same level?

Yes or No?

Yours sincerely,

Ron

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Ron 
 
Thank you for your request for further information, reference number
5851_1314.
 
I wish to confirm that North East Lincolnshire Council holds the
information you have requested.
 
Has North East Lincolnshire Council reviewed the standard level it claims
for costs in the Magistrates' court to reflect the new levels of
applications?
NELC reviews levels of costs each year when setting annual budgets and
this review will take place before that process.
 
If not has the Magistrates' court made any adjustment to the level of
costs it awards North East Lincolnshire Council in respect of costs?
The courts have made no adjustment to the level of costs it awards.
 
If you are unhappy with the response you have received, you have the right
to request an internal review by the Council. If following this you are
still dissatisfied you may contact the Office of the Information
Commissioner. If you wish to request an internal review, please contact me
and I will make the necessary arrangements.
 
Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council
 
Feedback Officer
Resources Directorate
 
 
Sent: 24 September 2013 13:36
To: PPD - FOI
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information Request 5782/1314
 
Dear PPD - FOI,
 
Although my previous calculation was only to demonstrate the effect of
higher levels of liability order applications, I neglected to include
costs which are attributable to an increased number of applications.
 
These are the Magistrates court fees of £3 for each application to the
court for the issue of a summons. There will be postage costs too etc for
serving the summons.
 
The cost estimated at £42 post benefit reform would with the fixed costs
included make that figure in the region of £44.
 
7,946 – 4,764 = 3,182
 
3,182 x £4 = £12,728
 
£12,728 + £333,480 = £346,208
 
£346,208 divided by 7,946 = £43.57
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Ron

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