Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

NOTE: Please do not edit the subject line when replying to this email. If
you have a processing request, please ensure you quote that reference in
your emails to us.

DEAR Debra Buckton

 

Freedom of information request - FOI/7291

 

Subject: NDR Recovery Action

Your request is being considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days, subject to the application of
any exemptions. Where consideration is being given to exemptions the 20
working day timescale may be extended to a period considered reasonable
depending on the nature and circumstances of your request. In such cases
you will be notified and, where possible, a revised time-scale will be
indicated. In all cases we shall attempt to deal with your request at the
earliest opportunity.

If we are unable to provide you with the information requested we will
notify you of this together with the reason(s) why, and details of how you
may appeal.

Please note that the directorate team may contact you for further
information where we believe that the request is not significantly clear
for us to respond fully. 

Kind Regard

Information Management Team

 

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

 

7th Floor, Zone B

Bernard Weatherill House

8 Mint Walk

Croydon CR0 1EA

Good afternoon,

We apologise for the time this is taking to process.

Your request is still receiving attention and we are urgently chasing the
answering department for a response. They have advised that they are
waiting on final pieces of data to complete the answer and hope to have a
further update by the end of this week.

Once we have their final response we will immediately send this out to
you.

Apologies for any inconvenience.

 

Kind regards,

 

Information Team

Croydon Council

 

Dear [email address],

I refer to my request made for which I should have received a response
by 25 April 2023.

Please provide an update.

Yours sincerely,

Debra Buckton

show quoted sections

Information Team Croydon
Digital Services
Assistant Chief Executive Directorate
Bernard Wetherill House
7th Floor, Zone B
Croydon
CR0 1EA

Contact: Information Team
[Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

Dear Debra Buckton

Request FOI/7291

Further to your request received on 27/03/2023, I confirm that the Council
has now considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request

 

Specifically, you have requested the following information:

REQUEST

 

 

You have been assigned a request for information to action. The request
is:

 

In relation to NDR debt recovery and the enforcement options available
once a liability order has been obtain:

1. Do you ever use alternative method of recovery through a court of
competent jurisdiction (Regulations 10(2) and 20(1) Non-Domestic Rating
(Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1989 S.I.1989/1058)? Between
2018/19 and 2023/24 a. If yes how many/% per year?

b. How many/% were successful?

 

2. Liability Orders

a. How many NDR debt Liability Orders have been applied for in each year
2018/19 – 2022/23?

b. How many Liability Orders have been granted per year for NDR debt in
each year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

 

3. Enforcement Agents

a. How many NDR debts have been sent to Enforcement Agents in each year
2018/19 – 2022/23?

b. How much NDR debt was collected via Enforcement Agents in each year
2018/19 – 2022/23?

 

4. Security for Unpaid Rates Non-Domestic Rating - a. If used how many per
year in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

b. What are the average costs to pursue this method?

c. How many of the debts subject to this method of recovery have been
collected in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

 

4. Insolvency

a. If used how many in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

b. If used do you use an external company to undertake this work?

c. What was the average cost for undertaking each insolvency action?

 

5. Commitment to Prison Inquiry into Means and Conduct a. How many in each
year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

b. What % of these resulted in debt successfully recovered?

 

6. S49 Powers to reduce or remit liability a. How many times has this been
implemented in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

b. What was total sum/% of this ‘relief’ in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23?

 

If you have been incorrectly assigned this request, please reply to this
email immediately.

 

 

RESPONSE

 

Please see below for information requested.

 

The London Borough of Croydon is a multi-year billing authority which
means that a Reminder, Summons, Liability Order or an Enforcement Agent
referral that took place in one financial year, may be in relation to
Business Rates arrears for a previous financial year.

 

As the London Borough of Croydon is a multi-year billing authority, there
may be more than one Enforcement Agent referral throughout the financial
year, with each referral counted separately. This could be due to a
Liability Order being issued on more than one occasion, or the first
Enforcement Agent referral being unsuccessful and the outstanding Business
Rates debt referred to another Enforcement Agent.

 

The Council attempts to recover all outstanding Business Rates debt,
although this is not always possible due to the business/individual having
ceased trading and vacated the hereditament and not informed the Council
of their contact address.

 

However, in these instances the Council will attempt to trace the debtor
with enquiries to the lease/freeholder, Companies House or through
agencies such as Credit Reference Agencies (CRAs) and Debt Collection
Agencies (DCAs).

 

In relation to NDR debt recovery and the enforcement options available
once a liability order has been obtain:

1. Do you ever use alternative method of recovery through a court of
competent jurisdiction (Regulations 10(2) and 20(1) Non-Domestic Rating
(Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1989 S.I.1989/1058)? Between
2018/19 and 2023/24 - NO

a. If yes how many/% per year? - NA

b. How many/% were successful? - NA

 

2. Liability Orders

a. How many NDR debt Liability Orders have been applied for in each year
2018/19 – 2022/23? – See table below

b. How many Liability Orders have been granted per year for NDR debt in
each year 2018/19 – 2022/23? – See table below

 

Liability Orders Financial Year
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
Summonses issued 906 719 0 1,902 1,782
Liability Orders Granted 631 559 127 977 1,256

 

 

3. Enforcement Agents

a. How many NDR debts have been sent to Enforcement Agents in each year
2018/19 – 2022/23? – See table below

b. How much NDR debt was collected via Enforcement Agents in each year
2018/19 – 2022/23? – See table below

 

Enforcement Financial Year
Agents 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
Accounts
Referred to 565 454 13 9 174
Enforcement
Agents
Amount Received
from Enforcement £793,243.03 £673,469.56 £88,042.77 £42,356.40 £295,898.94
Agents

 

 

4. Security for Unpaid Rates Non-Domestic Rating – Not used

a. If used how many per year in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23? - NA

b. What are the average costs to pursue this method? - NA

c. How many of the debts subject to this method of recovery have been
collected in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23? - NA

 

4. Insolvency

a. If used how many in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23? – See table below

b. If used do you use an external company to undertake this work? - No, we
currently don’t use an external company.

c. What was the average cost for undertaking each insolvency action? - The
average cost is £2,015

 

  Financial Year
2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23
Insolvencies 1 0 1 0 0

 

 

5. Commitment to Prison Inquiry into Means and Conduct – Not used

a. How many in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23? - NA

b. What % of these resulted in debt successfully recovered? - NA

 

6. S49 Powers to reduce or remit liability – Not used

a. How many times has this been implemented in each year 2018/19 –
2022/23? - NA

b. What was total sum/% of this ‘relief’ in each year 2018/19 – 2022/23? -
NA

 

 

The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its
online Disclosure Log. (Any request included within this log will be
anonymised appropriately)

 

To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website available
here:

 

[1]The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act | Croydon Council
(disclosure-log.co.uk)

 

If you are dissatisfied with the way the Council has handled your request
under the Freedom of Information Act you may ask for an internal review.
This should be submitted to us within 40 working days of this response.
You can do this by outlining the details of your complaint by:

 

Email:        [2][Croydon Borough Council request email]

 

Writing:     Information Team

London Borough of Croydon

Bernard Weatherill House

Floor 7 - Zone B

                   8 Mint Walk

Croydon, CR0 1EA

 

Any requests received after the 40 working day time limit will be
considered only at the discretion of the council.

 

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. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire, SK9 5AF

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Louise Edwards

 

Information Team

Croydon Digital Services

Assistant Chief Executive Directorate

Bernard Wetherill House,

Mint Walk,

Croydon,

CR0 1EA

 

 

[3][Croydon Borough Council request email]

[4][email address]

 

References

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