Exercising discretion when applying to the court for a Council Tax Liability Order

The request was partially successful.

Dear Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council,

The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (the "Regulations") confer a duty on the billing authority to exercise discretion under regulation 34(1) when deciding whether to institute a complaint to the Magistrates' court to enforce payment.

Regulation 34(1) as amended by Regulation 15 of SI 1992/3008 states, with the relevant part emphasised, as follows:

"If an amount which has fallen due under paragraph (3) or (4) of regulation 23 (including those paragraphs as applied as mentioned in regulation 28A(2)) is wholly or partly unpaid, or (in a case where a final notice is required under regulation 33) the amount stated in the final notice is wholly or partly unpaid at the expiry of the period of 7 days beginning with the day on which the notice was issued, THE BILLING AUTHORITY MAY, in accordance with paragraph (2), apply to a magistrates' court for an order against the person by whom it is payable."

Regulation 34(2) states as follows:

"The application is to be instituted by making complaint to a justice of the peace, and requesting the issue of a summons directed to that person to appear before the court to show why he has not paid the sum which is outstanding."

The following are examples (but by no means exhaustive) of what are reasonable factors a recovery officer should take into account in exercising discretion to institute a complaint to the Magistrates court under paragraph (2) of regulation 34 of the Regulations:

1. the level of debt outstanding

2. any payments made subsequent to the full amount becoming due and time remaining of the financial year

3. are circumstances indicative of the debt being settled without resorting to enforcement

4. consider if enforcing the debt would unnecessarily subject the taxpayer to additional costs etc. and therefore amount to a penalty (see 3 above)

5. ensure monies have been prioritised to maintaining the in-year debt

6. allocate to the in-year any monies posted to arrears (or sufficient of it) that would if it had not been misallocated prevented the in-year liability also falling in arrears (see 5 above)

7. check for benefit claims or appeals already in the system and refrain from taking enforcement action where such genuine cases are unresolved

Q1. Does Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council exercise discretion before proceeding to the Magistrates' court to seek permission to enforce payment (it may be an automated process)

Q2. If yes to (1) what factors are taken into consideration

Yours faithfully,

Helen Barker

Information Manager, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I acknowledge with thanks your request for information; this request has been considered as a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

As such, your request may take up to 20 working days to be processed and has been passed on to an appropriate officer.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has recognised the unprecedented challenges all are facing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and that people may experience delays when making requests for information during the pandemic.

Please be aware that your response may not be complete in whole or in part. This is due to government wide measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Oldham Council is currently handling a large volume of business-critical work aimed towards the protection and safeguarding of residents during the COVID-19 outbreak, and as such the business area may not be able to respond to your request within the expected timeframe or provide full information for the completion of your request.

If you have any comments or questions in the meantime, please direct them to [email address]

Please be advised that if an exemption applies to the information that you have requested, the statutory period may be exceeded in accordance with the provisions of that Act.

Should you have any queries, please contact:  [Oldham Council request email]

Yours faithfully,

Information Management Team
Oldham Council
Level 14
Civic Centre
West Street
Oldham   OL1 1UL

[email address]

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Dear Information Manager,

I have been alerted to the fact that my request could have been clearer. In order to remove any ambiguity my request is amended as follows:

Q1. Does Oldham Council exercise discretion before proceeding under regulation 34(2) of the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 to request a summons from a justice of the peace (it may be an automated process)

Q2. If yes to (1) what factors are taken into consideration

Yours sincerely,

Helen Barker

M Ali (Account suspended) left an annotation ()

Dear Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council,

"Before any payment plan can be discussed we will require you to complete the attached form which is a legal requirement when discussing Council Tax arrangements.

Due to the size of the balance, £8,496.53, a lump sum payment of £4,000 is required within the next 10 days. Once received we can negotiate a repayment plan on the remaining balance."

Kind regards

Mr Paul Taylor
Senior Recovery Officer
[email address]
T: 0161 770 1097 | T: 0161 770 4949

Yours faithfully,

M Ali

Exchequer ClientTeam, Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

Dear Ms Barker

 

I refer to your request for information received below which has been
considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

 

The Council has complied with your request in relation to all the
questions asked. Please see below.

 

Q1. Does Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council exercise discretion before
proceeding to the Magistrates' court to seek permission to enforce payment
(it may be an automated process)

If the authority is fully aware of circumstances that should prevent the
issue of magistrates’ court proceedings for the collection of unpaid
council tax, then consideration will be given, and steps will be taken to
prevent such accounts from being selected from further recovery
proceedings. The selection process is an automated process but will not
select cases where a stop recovery decision has been applied.

 

Q2. If yes to (1) what factors are taken into consideration

Factors that may be taken into consideration:

o The amount owed is uneconomical to pursue. 
o A taxpayer has worked with the Council to bring their original
arrangement up to date so that it can be reinstated.
o The taxpayer has submitted an appeal to the Valuation Tribunal in
regard to their liability to Council Tax and/or discounts and
exemptions.
o There is a Council Tax Reduction claim outstanding, and it can be
reasonably expected that the eligibility criteria is met.
o The taxpayer requires support from the Council to claim applicable
discounts, disregards or exemptions.
o The taxpayer’s ability to pay.

 

The above list is not exhaustive. Each account is dealt with on a case by
case basis and, where applicable, taxpayers will be referred/signposted to
other services or 3^rd party partners to support the taxpayer e.g. Welfare
Rights to maximise income, Citizen Advice Bureau to assist with other debt
advice.   

 

I trust that this information will prove satisfactory. However, if you are
dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask
for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted
within two months of the date of receipt of the response to your original
letter and should be addressed to:

 

Paul Entwistle

Director of Legal Services

Legal & Democratic Services

Oldham MBC

Civic Centre, West St, Oldham OL1 1UG

Tel:  0161 770 4822

E-mail:  [1][email address]

 

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. Details are as follows:

 

Office of the Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire   SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545700

Fax: 01625 524510

[2]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

If I can be of any further assistance with this matter please do not
hesitate to contact me.

 

TRACEY RONTREE

Exchequer Client Officer (Revenues)

Commissioning

Oldham Council

Civic Centre

West Street

Oldham

OL1 1UT

Email: [3][email address]

 

*Please note: For satellite navigation purposes the postcode is OL1 1NL

 

Visiting the Civic Centre by Metrolink? The nearest stop is Oldham King
Street (2-3 mins walk)

 

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Dear Exchequer ClientTeam,

Thank you for your response. Please note I amended my request in an email of 8 April so
the Council's response possibly may not correspond specifically to my intended request as it appears that the original was considered.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Barker

Dear Exchequer ClientTeam,

Further to your response, I would like it clarifying what the council's procedure is regarding recovery. For example, I would like it confirming the level of costs and at what stage of recovery they are applied. Also whether an arrangement is possible at final notice or after the summons stage and whether this avoids costs/proceeding to liability order. I have been unable to find any information on the council's website nor have I been able to find a publicly available debt recovery policy.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Barker