Imprisonment for non payment of Council Tax
Dear Rhondda Cynon Taff Council,
Please provide me with the numbers of people in RCT who have been imprisoned for the non payment of Council Tax for the past 10 years or so. Please give details if able of the average terms served.
Further to the recent comments and concerns raised by Mark Drakeford AM involving the views of preventing a person facing such a draconian form of 'punishment' in the future please could you tell me what are the views of this Council and are debtors still being imprisoned.
Finally, should debtors not be imprisoned what other forms of punishment are used instead?
Legal charges are one admittedly but not everyone would be subject to this.
Thank you,
Yours faithfully,
Angela Richards
former Leader of Wales Council Tax Campaign aligned with Is It Fair.
Dear Ms Richards,
Thank you for your request for information.
Your request will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (or Environmental Information Regulations 2004, if it
relates to environmental information).
You should ordinarily expect to receive a response to your request no
later than 20 working days following the date of submission to the
Council. We will contact you should this not be the case.
Yours sincerely
Carfan Llywodraethu Corfforaethol / Corporate Governance Team
ar ran Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol / for Director
of Legal & Democratic Services
Dear Freedomofinformation,
Thank you for your prompt response and I look forward to hearing from you before the time limit of 31st instant.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Ms Richards,
Further to your Freedom of Information Request below, in order for us to
provide you with the correct information, in relation to the part where it
states;
'Finally, should debtors not be imprisoned what other forms of punishment
are used instead?'
Please can you clarify what you mean by this? i.e. does this mean what
other options does the Council have to recover the council tax please?
Yours Sincerely
Carfan Llywodraethu Corfforaethol / Corporate Governance Team
ar ran Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol / for Director
of Legal & Democratic Services
Dear Freedomofinformation,
Further to your query I can confirm that is correct.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Ms Richards,
We refer to your Freedom of Information Request in respect of Imprisonment
for non-payment of Council Tax.
The Authority’s response is as follows:
Please provide me with the numbers of people in RCT who have been
imprisoned for the non payment of Council Tax for the past 10 years or so.
Please give details if able of the average terms served.
Please see table outlined below:-
Council Tax
Payers
Committed
to Prison
for
Non-Payment
of Council
Tax
Year No.
2009-10 1
2010-11 2
2011-12 2
2012-13 2
2013-14 0
2014-15 1
2015-16 0
2016-17 0
2017-18 0
8
Further to the recent comments and concerns raised by Mark Drakeford AM
involving the views of preventing a person facing such a draconian form
of 'punishment' in the future please could you tell me what are the views
of this Council – Unfortunately, we are unable to provide an answer to
this question, as this is not a request for recorded information.
and are debtors still being imprisoned - This is regarding future events,
therefore, we are unable to provide an answer to this question.
Finally, should debtors not be imprisoned what other forms of punishment
are used instead? - These are available in the legislation, Council Tax
(Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.
If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request a review of the Council’s response. If you wish
to exercise this right, please set out in writing your grounds and send
your appeal to Mrs Julie Llewellyn. She may be reached at
[1][email address] or at RCT CBC, Pavilions, Clydach Vale,
Tonypandy, CF40 2XX.
Additionally you may, if you wish, find out more about the Freedom of
Information Act & Environmental Information Regulations from the
Information Commissioner at
We trust this answers your queries.
Yours Sincerely
Carfan Llywodraethu Corfforaethol / Corporate Governance Team
ar ran Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol / for Director
of Legal & Democratic Services
[3]cid:FE48A5FE-C9BA-4E6C-ACED-1EA51AB1E22D
Dear Freedomofinformation,
Thank you for your response and this request is now closed.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Freedomofinformation,
My error I note that this part of the request has not been answered.
Please could also you tell me the number of 'written off' Council Tax debts and the amounts involved over the past 10 yrs or so.
I look forward to a response to this question please.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Ms Richards,
Thank you for your request for information.
Your request will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 (or Environmental Information Regulations 2004, if it
relates to environmental information).
You should ordinarily expect to receive a response to your request no
later than 20 working days following the date of submission to the
Council. We will contact you should this not be the case.
Yours sincerely
Carfan Llywodraethu Corfforaethol / Corporate Governance Team
ar ran Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol / for Director
of Legal & Democratic Services
Dear Freedomofinformation,
Thank you for your prompt response and I look forward to hearing from you within the time scale.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Freedomofinformation,
May I now please have a response to the latter part of my request.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Freedomofinformation,
Unfortunately you still haven't responded to the latter part of my request added as an addendum as follows:
Please could also you tell me the number of 'written off' Council Tax debts and the amounts involved over the past 10 yrs or so.
Please could you answer this question as you are now out of time.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Dear Ms Richards
We received this part of your request on 29 August 2018, therefore the 20
working day deadline is 26 September 2018.
Yours sincerely
Llywodraethu Corfforaethol/Corporate Governance
ar ran Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol/for Director
of Legal & Democratic Services
Dear Ms Richards
We refer to your Freedom of Information Request in respect of ‘written
off’ council tax debts.
The Authority’s response is set out below:
Notices Written Amounts Written off as
Financial Year Off * reported at 31st March
of Financial Year
2008/09 1,254 £223,257
2009/10 1,605 £346,436
2010/11 2,031 £298,038
2011/12 1,760 £257,245
2012/13 2,381 £285,387
2013/14 2,642 £357,082
2014/15 2,214 £357,654
2015/16 2,578 £341,229
2016/17 2,230 £426,501
2017/18 4,489 £298,955
*a notice relates to a single financial year and
therefore multiple notices may have been written off
during the year for one customer
We trust the information provided is satisfactory. If you are unhappy
with the way your request for information has been handled, you can
request a review of the Council’s response. If you wish to exercise this
right, you must do so within 40 working days of the date of this
response. Please set out in writing your grounds and send your appeal to
Mrs Julie Llewellyn. She may be reached at
j[1][email address] or at RCT CBC, The Pavilions, Clydach
Vale, Tonypandy, CF40 2XX.
Additionally you may, if you wish, find out more about the Freedom of
Information Act & Environmental Information Regulations from the
Information Commissioner at [2]http://www.ico.org.uk/
Yours sincerely
Llywodraethu Corfforaethol/Corporate Governance
ar ran Cyfarwyddwr Gwasanaethau Cyfreithiol a Llywodraethol/for Director
of Legal & Democratic Services
[3]cid:FE48A5FE-C9BA-4E6C-ACED-1EA51AB1E22D
Dear Freedomofinformation,
Thank you for completing the final part of my request.
Yours sincerely,
Angela Richards
Wesley Hayden left an annotation ()
Normally, a council preys on peoples ignorance of the commanding LAW.
That is another request though, for perhaps the education system to "legally" deny.
The first stage is the "bill" that isnt a bill of exchange (?) in the form of a demand.
A simple demand made only in financial terms, as it is easier for the collective to not have to "labor" for the fruits but take yours instead! Result!
It can only be achieved by you giving time and energy to another equally lost cause, besides if demands on your time and energy were made directly..that would be an offer to enter into slavery! This would then look far too obvious to a dumbed down nation of ignorant men and women. Councils prefer the indirect route to stealing your money.
No...this game is just reliable coersion or the threat of force you are dealing with.
Failing that...
A man or a woman should expect to recieve a demand in the post with both black and now additional "red" ink on it, to somehow subliminally push the spell further into the subconscious mind as a WARNING to give up the fruits of your physical labor and time while alive.
This communication will include the words "pay" or "payment" multiple times throughout the letter, front and reverse.
The self styled council eventually moves onto the next stage of its not so subtle coersion, this time another department of this incorporated franchise.. The magi- strates court, who try to "summon" a dead person ....the fictitious character that your mum or dad never EVER named you or called you by..
Edit: (remember that in and by itself, finance is directly connected to the ability to feed and keep shelter and cloth ones self, this is what is effectively being threatened..aiming now at your liberty using your money to pay goons to go after....yup...your money!).
So continuing with this coersive spell ....it now takes on the form of a signatory, who has no actual name (and no body or spirit) printed onto it, assumes even more in the form of its demands.
Failing that formality in judgement....
Another more coersive element raises its ugly head.
Sticky fingered bailiff (actually a collector of imaginary debts...) come to literally take what is not his (normally theft but remember we are discussing ignorance of the commanding LAW).
Should the door still REMAIN CLOSED to these SCUMBAGS, then the "local authority or council" feel it is time to go to the next stage in the demand... UNEXPECTEDLY going back to stage one... A simple demand in financial terms ... still software automated as ever and curiously as if the previous stages never happened.
This is a much more common account of what happens than anyone is EVER allowed to believe or learn/read about online or elsewhere. Local authorities and councils are made up of people who would rather let YOU pay for their retirement and pension. Feed the beast and it will grow ever more hungry.
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Angela Richards left an annotation ()
Post script
Please could also you tell me the number of 'written off' Council Tax debts and the amounts involved over the past 10 yrs or so.
Thank you.