Councillors and Council Tax Arrears
Hello,
I'm writing to you in the hope of obtaining information relating to the number of reminder letters and summons sent to elected councillors in your authority area since 2015/16.
I'd prefer to receive the information in Excel spreadsheet - xlsx or xls - format and if you cannot provide the information in full, I would like to request that you provide as much as you are able to within the cost and time limits of the Act.
If you need clarification or can suggest ways in which the request can be refined in order for it to be successful, I'd be grateful if you could contact me as soon as possible.
Please note that there is precedent for councillors to be named in relation to this issue - the High Court ruled in March 2015 that they should not have their identities protected when it comes to non-payment of council tax.
I'd like to know the following:
1. How many unpaid council tax reminders were sent to councillors elected in your authority between 2015/16 and 2017/18? Please break down by financial year?
2. How many councillors were summonsed to court or given summary warrants in the same period? Again, please break down by financial year.
3a. How many reminders were issued to the councillors named? Please break down by year.
3b. For each instance, please provide the name of each councillor, the party they represent or represented at the time and the amount of council tax owed according to sums requested in the letter. Please also provide the amount of council tax that remains outstanding.
3c. Please also state for each councillor, whether they were barred from voting on the council's budget as a result of their council tax arrears and whether any summons received resulted in a court hearing going ahead.
I'd be grateful if you could provide the information for questions 1 and 2 as totals for your authority and present the rest of the information within a spreadsheet with the following columns:
Financial Year - Authority Name - Councillor Name - Party - No of Reminders - No of Summons - Amount Owed According to Reminders - Court Hearing Y/N - Outcome of Hearing - Banned from Voting Y/N - Current Sum Outstanding
Yours faithfully,
Joanna Morris
Thank you for submitting a request for information. We will respond to your request as quickly as possible, within the 20 working day statutory deadline under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
For updates on this case, please quote your unique reference number 101000879797 .
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Customer Service Centre
East Devon District Council
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Dear Ms Morris,
Thank you for your request for information. Please find the response to your query below.
1. How many unpaid council tax reminders were sent to councillors elected in your authority between 2015/16 and 2017/18? Please break down by financial year?
2015/16 reminders = No data
2016/17 reminders = 5
2017/18 reminders = 6
2. How many councillors were summonsed to court or given summary warrants in the same period? Again, please break down by financial year.
2015/16 ? Zero
2016/17 ? Zero
2017/18 ? Zero
3a. How many reminders were issued to the councillors named? Please break down by year ? N/A
3b. For each instance, please provide the name of each councillor, the party they represent or represented at the time and the amount of council tax owed according to sums requested in the letter. Please also provide the amount of council tax that remains outstanding ? N/A
3c. Please also state for each councillor, whether they were barred from voting on the council's budget as a result of their council tax arrears and whether any summons received resulted in a court hearing going ahead ? N/A
I hope this information is helpful but, if you feel dissatisfied with the way we have responded to your request, please contact our Monitoring Officer, Mr Henry Gordon Lennox, to request an internal review [email address]
You may also approach the Information Commissioner for advice at www.ico.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Sara
Ms S Harvey
Information and Complaints Officer
East Devon District Council
[email address]
01395 571659
www.eastdevon.gov.uk
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Subscribe to your East Devon Update for regular news and information about what’s happening at East Devon District Council. Choose which topics you’re interested in to get a personalised update. (https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/...)
Email disclaimer (http://eastdevon.gov.uk/help/email-discl...)
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