Front loading Council Tax court costs to act as deterrent
Dear Wycombe District Council,
In reference to paragraph 21-30 of ANNEX A of the below document:
http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/wp...
The council proposed front loading court costs for obtaining a Council Tax liability order to the costs of issuing a summons in order to raise a forecasted additional £33,000 each year. This appears to artificially inflate court summons costs and is also claimed by the council to act as a deterrent/penalty which law does not permit. The law requires that the costs claimed are properly referable to the enforcement process (See paragraph 50 of the High Court judgment in Nicolson v Tottenham Magistrates [2015]) http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admi...
Please disclose all recorded details held by the Council relating to the relevant legal officer's involvement in overseeing the proposal of front loading court costs for obtaining a Council Tax liability order to the costs of issuing a summons for the above stated purposes.
Yours faithfully,
kasturba Lalbhai
Dear Ms Lalbhai
I am writing in connection with your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 for information relating to Front loading
court costs and Council Tax liability orders, which I received on 10 April
2017.
I have forwarded your request for information to Andy Green, Revenues &
Benefits Service Manager.
He will contact you shortly if he requires any additional information in
order to respond to your request appropriately. He will also contact you
if he feels your request may fall under a requirement for a fee to be
levied regarding the request for information this fee will need to be paid
prior to the request for information being answered.
Every effort will be made to respond to you within 10 working days of
receipt of your request. However, if because of the nature of your
request further investigations are necessary, we will respond within the
20 working day maximum entitled to us under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.
In the meantime, if you have any further comments relating to your
request, please contact the above named quoting the reference number
above.
Yours sincerely
Pamela Wharton
Business Support Manager
Wycombe District Council
Queen Victoria Road
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP11 1BB
Direct line: 01494 421301
Ref Email: [FOI #400128 email]
From: [email address]
To: [email address],
[email address], [email address]
Subject: FOI Form Submitted
Title: Ms
Forenames: Kasturba
Surname: Lalbhai
Address1: What Do They Know
Address2:
Address3:
Town:
County:
Postcode:
Phone:
Email: [FOI #400128 email]
CommType: Freedom of Information
Freetext: Dear Wycombe District Council,
In reference to paragraph 21-30 of ANNEX A of the below document:
http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/wp...
The council proposed front loading court costs for obtaining a Council Tax
liability order to the costs of issuing a summons in order to raise a
forecasted additional £33,000 each year. This appears to artificially
inflate court summons costs and is also claimed by the council to act as a
deterrent/penalty which law does not permit. The law requires that the
costs claimed are properly referable to the enforcement process (See
paragraph 50 of the High Court judgment in Nicolson v Tottenham
Magistrates [2015])
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admi...
Please disclose all recorded details held by the Council relating to the
relevant legal officer's involvement in overseeing the proposal of front
loading court costs for obtaining a Council Tax liability order to the
costs of issuing a summons for the above stated purposes.
Yours faithfully,
Kasturba Lalbhai
Subject: Legal Services
Senders Ref: 'Front-loading' court costs and Council Tax liability orders
FileRef: Not Known
Location: Not Known
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Dear Ms Lalbhai
Please find response to your request for information:
No record of information requested
Regards
Andy Green IRRV (Hons)
Revenues and benefits service manager
01494 421001
From: [1][email address]
To: [2][email address],
[3][email address], [4][email address]
Subject: FOI Form Submitted
Title: Ms
Forenames: Kasturba
Surname: Lalbhai
Address1: What Do They Know
Address2:
Address3:
Town:
County:
Postcode:
Phone:
Email: [5][FOI #400128 email]
CommType: Freedom of Information
Freetext: Dear Wycombe District Council,
In reference to paragraph 21-30 of ANNEX A of the below document:
[6]http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/wp...
The council proposed front loading court costs for obtaining a Council Tax
liability order to the costs of issuing a summons in order to raise a
forecasted additional £33,000 each year. This appears to artificially
inflate court summons costs and is also claimed by the council to act as a
deterrent/penalty which law does not permit. The law requires that the
costs claimed are properly referable to the enforcement process (See
paragraph 50 of the High Court judgment in Nicolson v Tottenham
Magistrates [2015])
[7]http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admi...
Please disclose all recorded details held by the Council relating to the
relevant legal officer's involvement in overseeing the proposal of front
loading court costs for obtaining a Council Tax liability order to the
costs of issuing a summons for the above stated purposes.
Yours faithfully,
Kasturba Lalbhai
Subject: Legal Services
Senders Ref: 'Front-loading' court costs and Council Tax liability orders
FileRef: Not Known
Location: Not Known
Email End
****** HELP US TO REDUCE PAPER USE ******
****** DO NOT PRINT THIS EMAIL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY ******
****** DISCLAIMER *****
Any opinions expressed in this email are those of the individual and are
not necessarily those of Wycombe District Council.
This email and any files transmitted within it are strictly confidential
and intended solely for the use of the individual or
entity to which it is addressed. If you are not the intended recipient of
this email you must not copy, distribute or use the
communication in any other way. If you do receive this email in error
please contact the sender as soon as possible and
delete the email and any attachments. Wycombe District Council may monitor
the contents of email sent and received
via its network for the purposes of ensuring compliance with its policies
and procedures.
Wycombe District Council has scanned this email and attachments for
viruses but does not accept any responsibilities
for viruses once this email has been transmitted. The recipient is
responsible for scanning emails and any attachments for viruses
themselves.
This message has been scanned for viruses by MailControl, a service from
BlackSpider Technologies.
Click here to report this email as spam.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. mailto:[email address]
4. mailto:[email address]
5. mailto:[FOI #400128 email]
6. http://taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk/wp...
7. http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admi...
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Tom Bola left an annotation ()
There's a breakdown of costs attached to the response below:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...
Here, it is almost admitted that the calculation can be easily manipulated to get a figure of expenditure that suits the local authority.
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/c...