Information Request
 
Thank you for your email.  This is to acknowledge receipt of your
request.  Your request will be handled by an officer who will respond
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 as appropriate.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case I will
let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before I will proceed to deal with your request.

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. I will write to you in any event.
 
Whilst it is the Council policy to provide information wherever possible,
I need to advise you that there are a number of exemptions under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Exceptions under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.  These may prevent the Council from
releasing all or some of the information you have asked for.   You will,
however, be informed if this is the case and we will explain why.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Paul Mountford | Principal Performance & Intelligence Officer
South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ
Tel: 01539 733333
Email: [1][South Lakeland District Council request email] 
Website: [2]www.southlakeland.gov.uk  
 

  ________________________________  

South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

Information contained in this email is intended only for the individual to
whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential
information and if you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this
email in error please notify the sender immediately by telephone on 01539
733333. Please also destroy and delete the message from your computer.

All communications sent to or from South Lakeland District Council may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

Nothing in this email message amounts to a contractual or other legal
commitment on the part of South Lakeland District Council.

  ________________________________  

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
2. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/

Information Request
 
Thank you for your email.  This is to acknowledge receipt of your
request.  Your request will be handled by an officer who will respond
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 as appropriate.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case I will
let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before I will proceed to deal with your request.

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. I will write to you in any event.
 
Whilst it is the Council policy to provide information wherever possible,
I need to advise you that there are a number of exemptions under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Exceptions under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.  These may prevent the Council from
releasing all or some of the information you have asked for.   You will,
however, be informed if this is the case and we will explain why.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Paul Mountford | Principal Performance & Intelligence Officer
South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ
Tel: 01539 733333
Email: [1][South Lakeland District Council request email] 
Website: [2]www.southlakeland.gov.uk  
 

  ________________________________  

South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

Information contained in this email is intended only for the individual to
whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential
information and if you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this
email in error please notify the sender immediately by telephone on 01539
733333. Please also destroy and delete the message from your computer.

All communications sent to or from South Lakeland District Council may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

Nothing in this email message amounts to a contractual or other legal
commitment on the part of South Lakeland District Council.

  ________________________________  

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
2. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/

Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office until Tuesday
30 October. Please contact my colleagues Tom Dugdale (01539 793269), Emma
Nichols (01539 793268) or John Davies (01539 793263) for anything urgent.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

Information contained in this email is intended only for the individual to
whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential
information and if you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this
email in error please notify the sender immediately by telephone on 01539
733333. Please also destroy and delete the message from your computer.

All communications sent to or from South Lakeland District Council may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

Nothing in this email message amounts to a contractual or other legal
commitment on the part of South Lakeland District Council.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Dear Mr Williams,

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. You asked
the following:

BACKGROUND:

Debt killed my dad

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45581...

REQUEST

I would like data relating to the Nigel Hurst (deceased) and his
indebtedness to you.

This includes, but is not limited to:

1. All council tax bills.

2. Court summons.

3. Correspondence etc. with the court and bailiffs.

4. Correspondence, invoices etc. with the trustee/BDO.

5. Internal communications.

6. List time of all recorded phone calls with Mr Hurst and state if those
were recorded (I may want to ask for the recordings in a later FOIA
request.

7. Internal report in to Mr Hurst death.

Please provide all internal guidance etc. on dealing with council tax
debtors.

Please provide the total amount of the debt at time of death and how much
you have recovered

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the late response
to your request for information. I am sorry that South Lakeland District
Council did not respond to your information request within the statutory
20 working days as directed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I
am grateful for your patience regarding this matter and I am sorry if this
has caused any inconvenience to you.

Given the distressing nature of the case relating to Mr Hurst, South
Lakeland District Council had already undertaken a thorough investigation
of the circumstances in this matter (long before the Radio 4 programme)
and it may be worth sharing this with you so that you have an
understanding of the circumstances perhaps not fully represented in the
radio programme.

Over a six year period between March 2007 and October 2013, the council
made more than 50 attempts to contact Mr Hurst to discuss his council tax
arrears and to offer repayment options after he stopped paying his direct
debit.

As well as letters and reminders Mr Hurst was also sent information about
debt advice and debt counselling services that could act as intermediaries
if he was unwilling to engage with the council directly.

During that six year period Mr Hurst was also sent six court summonses,
liability orders, bankruptcy warning notices and enforcement warning
letters.

Agents acting for the council visited his property on six separate
occasions to try to engage with him to discuss the arrears. Mr Hurst did
not respond to any correspondence and did not answer the door when his
property was visited. There was no successful contact with Mr Hurst during
that six year period.

It was established that Mr Hurst owned a property that contained
considerable equity, more than sufficient to cover the outstanding council
tax arrears which at this point was £9,332.

It was also established that Mr Hurst was in employment but he did not
respond to requests for information about his employer to enable the
council to pursue an Attachment of Earnings Order.

As Mr Hurst had not responded to the many attempts by the council to
contact him and offer repayment opportunities, but all the available
evidence suggested he had the means to settle the debt, the council
considered that commencing bankruptcy proceedings was the only appropriate
next course of action. Alternatives to bankruptcy proceedings would have
been to start committal proceedings which could potentially result in a
custodial sentence, or applying for a Charging Order for forced sale on
his home which could potentially have made him homeless.

Based on the evidence available the council took the view that it wasn’t
prepared to write-off the debt as there was sufficient equity in the
property to cover the debt and it was in the interests of taxpayers to try
to recover the arrears. The council decided to instigate bankruptcy
proceedings on 14 October 2013 and Mr Hurst was personally served with a
Statutory Demand on 30 October 2013.

This was a further opportunity to discuss arrangements with the council to
settle the arrears before the bankruptcy went to court. Mr Hurst failed to
respond to the demand.

A Bankruptcy Petition was then presented to the court by the council just
over two months later.  Mr Hurst was personally served with the Bankruptcy
Petition in January 2014. Again, no response was received from Mr Hurst. A
Bankruptcy Order was then made by the court in March 2014 as Mr Hurst had
not engaged in the bankruptcy proceedings.  Mr Hurst did not attend the
court hearing.

Following the court issuing the Bankruptcy Order, court-approved trustees,
BDO LLP, were appointed to manage the bankruptcy. To be clear, BDO LLP are
not part of South Lakeland District Council. They are an independent
trustee appointed by the courts to recover the monies owed to any
creditors. The trustee, BDO LLP, has a legal duty under the Insolvency Act
to collect the debt. The amount owed to South Lakeland District Council
did not alter or increase following the bankruptcy petition and remained
at £9,332.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your FOI request, you have
the right to ask us to review our handling of your request. Any request
for an Internal Review must be made in writing within 40 days of this
response. Should you wish to request a review, please email
[2][South Lakeland District Council request email] or write to me at the address below. Our
Internal Review Process is available on our [3]website.

Should you remain dissatisfied following our internal review, you can
refer the matter directly to the Information Commissioner.

Further information is available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office,

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

[4]www.ico.org.uk

Yours sincerely,

Paul Mountford | Principal Performance & Intelligence Officer

South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ

Tel: 01539 733333 | Direct Tel: 01539 793271 | [mobile number] |
Email: [5][email address]

Website: [6]www.southlakeland.gov.uk

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

Information contained in this email is intended only for the individual to
whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential
information and if you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this
email in error please notify the sender immediately by telephone on 01539
733333. Please also destroy and delete the message from your computer.

All communications sent to or from South Lakeland District Council may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

Nothing in this email message amounts to a contractual or other legal
commitment on the part of South Lakeland District Council.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

References

Visible links
1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45581...
2. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
3. https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/media/1...
4. http://www.ico.org.uk/
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/

Information Request
 
Thank you for your email.  This is to acknowledge receipt of your
request.  Your request will be handled by an officer who will respond
under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 as appropriate.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case I will
let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be
required to pay before I will proceed to deal with your request.

You will receive the information requested within 20 working days unless
the Council does not hold the information or there is a reason for it to
be withheld. I will write to you in any event.
 
Whilst it is the Council policy to provide information wherever possible,
I need to advise you that there are a number of exemptions under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 or Exceptions under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.  These may prevent the Council from
releasing all or some of the information you have asked for.   You will,
however, be informed if this is the case and we will explain why.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Paul Mountford | Principal Performance & Intelligence Officer
South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4DQ
Tel: 01539 733333
Email: [1][South Lakeland District Council request email] 
Website: [2]www.southlakeland.gov.uk  
 

  ________________________________  

South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

Information contained in this email is intended only for the individual to
whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential
information and if you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this
email in error please notify the sender immediately by telephone on 01539
733333. Please also destroy and delete the message from your computer.

All communications sent to or from South Lakeland District Council may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

Nothing in this email message amounts to a contractual or other legal
commitment on the part of South Lakeland District Council.

  ________________________________  

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[South Lakeland District Council request email]
2. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/

Dear Mr Williams,

I am writing in respect of your recent request for an Internal Review of
your request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

When conducting Internal Review requests in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act and as stated in our Internal Review Process, I consider:

1.       Was the request handled promptly and within 20 working days?

2.       Did we confirm the information was held?

3.       Does the council hold any additional information which has not
yet been released?

4.       Was a reason given for why the request was refused?

5.       Were any exemptions applied appropriately?

6.       Was a charge wrongly applied?

7.       The overall handling of the request

The review does not cover the content of the response itself, this is set
out in the Internal Review Process section:

‘What can’t you request a review about?

Not liking the answer you have received, for example a report shows that
some repairs have been undertaken, but you don’t think the work has been
completed properly. If you are unhappy with the implications of the
information provided to you, we will put you in direct contact with the
department concerned.’

Your request

Requests to the council are shown in italics, responses from the council
are shown in bold:

·         01/10/2018 , FOI request received:

BACKGROUND:

Debt killed my dad

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45581...

REQUEST

I would like data relating to the Nigel Hurst (deceased) and his
indebtedness to you.

This includes, but is not limited to:

1. All council tax bills.

2. Court summons.

3. Correspondence etc. with the court and bailiffs.

4. Correspondence, invoices etc. with the trustee/BDO.

5. Internal communications.

6. List time of all recorded phone calls with Mr Hurst and state if those
were recorded (I may want to ask for the recordings in a later FOIA
request.

7. Internal report in to Mr Hurst death.

Please provide all internal guidance etc. on dealing with council tax
debtors.

Please provide the total amount of the debt at time of death and how much
you have recovered

·         02/11/2018, response made:

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the late response
to your request for information. I am sorry that South Lakeland District
Council did not respond to your information request within the statutory
20 working days as directed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I
am grateful for your patience regarding this matter and I am sorry if this
has caused any inconvenience to you.

Given the distressing nature of the case relating to Mr Hurst, South
Lakeland District Council had already undertaken a thorough investigation
of the circumstances in this matter (long before the Radio 4 programme)
and it may be worth sharing this with you so that you have an
understanding of the circumstances perhaps not fully represented in the
radio programme.

Over a six year period between March 2007 and October 2013, the council
made more than 50 attempts to contact Mr Hurst to discuss his council tax
arrears and to offer repayment options after he stopped paying his direct
debit.

As well as letters and reminders Mr Hurst was also sent information about
debt advice and debt counselling services that could act as intermediaries
if he was unwilling to engage with the council directly.

During that six year period Mr Hurst was also sent six court summonses,
liability orders, bankruptcy warning notices and enforcement warning
letters.

Agents acting for the council visited his property on six separate
occasions to try to engage with him to discuss the arrears. Mr Hurst did
not respond to any correspondence and did not answer the door when his
property was visited. There was no successful contact with Mr Hurst during
that six year period.

It was established that Mr Hurst owned a property that contained
considerable equity, more than sufficient to cover the outstanding council
tax arrears which at this point was £9,332.

It was also established that Mr Hurst was in employment but he did not
respond to requests for information about his employer to enable the
council to pursue an Attachment of Earnings Order.

As Mr Hurst had not responded to the many attempts by the council to
contact him and offer repayment opportunities, but all the available
evidence suggested he had the means to settle the debt, the council
considered that commencing bankruptcy proceedings was the only appropriate
next course of action. Alternatives to bankruptcy proceedings would have
been to start committal proceedings which could potentially result in a
custodial sentence, or applying for a Charging Order for forced sale on
his home which could potentially have made him homeless.

Based on the evidence available the council took the view that it wasn’t
prepared to write-off the debt as there was sufficient equity in the
property to cover the debt and it was in the interests of taxpayers to try
to recover the arrears. The council decided to instigate bankruptcy
proceedings on 14 October 2013 and Mr Hurst was personally served with a
Statutory Demand on 30 October 2013.

This was a further opportunity to discuss arrangements with the council to
settle the arrears before the bankruptcy went to court. Mr Hurst failed to
respond to the demand.

A Bankruptcy Petition was then presented to the court by the council just
over two months later. Mr Hurst was personally served with the Bankruptcy
Petition in January 2014. Again, no response was received from Mr Hurst. A
Bankruptcy Order was then made by the court in March 2014 as Mr Hurst had
not engaged in the bankruptcy proceedings. Mr Hurst did not attend the
court hearing.

Following the court issuing the Bankruptcy Order, court-approved trustees,
BDO LLP, were appointed to manage the bankruptcy. To be clear, BDO LLP are
not part of South Lakeland District Council. They are an independent
trustee appointed by the courts to recover the monies owed to any
creditors. The trustee, BDO LLP, has a legal duty under the Insolvency Act
to collect the debt. The amount owed to South Lakeland District Council
did not alter or increase following the bankruptcy petition and remained
at £9,332.

·         02/11/2018 Internal review request received:

I am writing to request an internal review of South Lakeland District
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Nigel Hurst (deceased) council tax
suicide'.

Please release the data as asked.

Internal Review response

Following my review of your request, I can confirm the following response
to the considerations outlined above:

1.       Was the request handled promptly and within 20 working days?

·         The initial request was responded to 4 days late, an apology was
made for the late response

2.       Did we confirm the information was held?

·         The response gave the findings of the thorough investigation
undertaken regarding the case, rather than specific documents held

3.       Does the council hold any additional information which has not
yet been released?

·         Yes, the Council holds information relating to questions 1 to 5,
for 6 the council does not hold any information, for 7 the information
arising from the result of the investigation has already been provided to
you, there are no other internal reports. Regarding items 1 to 5 I have
considered the requested information and my response is detailed below:

1.        Redacted council tax bills are included in the attached
document. Please note the files have been redacted as necessary to remove
any personal information, except that of the deceased, eg names, direct
telephone numbers and email addresses, as they are considered personal
data. Release would be unfair to those affected and would breach the first
principle of the Data Protection Act and the personal information is
refused under Section 40(2) - someone else’s personal data.

2.        Court summons is included in the attached document.

3.        Correspondence is included in the attached document.

4.        Correspondence is included in the attached document.

5.         I consider this to be exempt under section 36 – prejudice the
conduct of public affairs. This is a qualified exemption which can only be
made by the Council’s Monitoring Officer. The correspondence may well
relate to a deceased individual but the information contained within any
internal correspondence related and relates to the free and frank
discussion of officers, advice provided from legal and other advisors. I
consider this to be a legitimate application of the exemption and that the
Council has a duty to maintain the confidence in the exchange of views of
officers etc. in this specific case. It is not in the public interest to
release this information.

4.       Was a reason given for why the request was refused?

·         Initially the request was responded to with the findings of the
thorough investigation undertaken regarding the case, rather than specific
documents held, it wasn’t specifically refused. Information has been
provided as attached for questions 1 to 4, with personal information
redacted as explained above. A refusal regarding question 5 has been
detailed in this Internal Review response. The Council does not hold any
information for questions 6 and 7.

5.       Were any exemptions applied appropriately?

·         Initially the request was responded to with the findings of the
thorough investigation undertaken regarding the case, rather than specific
documents held, it wasn’t specifically refused. Information has been
provided as attached for questions 1 to 4, with personal information
redacted as explained above. A refusal regarding question 5 has been
detailed in this Internal Review response with an explanation of the
application of exemption Section 36. The Council does not hold any
information for questions 6 and 7.

6.       Was a charge wrongly applied?

·         No charge was applied, I consider this aspect is not relevant

7.       Overall, was the request handled appropriately?

·         I apologise that the response to you took longer than 20 working
days, however I am satisfied with our handing of your request.

Should you remain dissatisfied following our internal review, you can
refer the matter directly to the Information Commissioner.

Further information is available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office,

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

[2]www.ico.org.uk

Yours sincerely,

Debbie Storr | Director Policy and Resources (Monitoring Officer)

South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4UF

Tel: 01539 793106 | [mobile number] | Email:
[3][email address]

Website: [4]www.southlakeland.gov.uk

South Lakeland District Council Making South Lakeland the best place to
live, work and explore

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

Information contained in this email is intended only for the individual to
whom it is addressed. It may contain privileged and confidential
information and if you are not the intended recipient you must not copy,
distribute or take any action in reliance on it. If you have received this
email in error please notify the sender immediately by telephone on 01539
733333. Please also destroy and delete the message from your computer.

All communications sent to or from South Lakeland District Council may be
subject to recording and/or monitoring in accordance with relevant
legislation.

Nothing in this email message amounts to a contractual or other legal
commitment on the part of South Lakeland District Council.

══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

References

Visible links
1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45581...
2. http://www.ico.org.uk/
3. mailto:[email address]
4. http://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/

Dear Mr Williams,

I am writing in respect of your recent request for an Internal Review of
your request under the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

When conducting Internal Review requests in accordance with the Freedom of
Information Act and as stated in our Internal Review Process, I consider:

1.       Was the request handled promptly and within 20 working days?

2.       Did we confirm the information was held?

3.       Does the council hold any additional information which has not
yet been released?

4.       Was a reason given for why the request was refused?

5.       Were any exemptions applied appropriately?

6.       Was a charge wrongly applied?

7.       The overall handling of the request

The review does not cover the content of the response itself, this is set
out in the Internal Review Process section:

‘What can’t you request a review about?

Not liking the answer you have received, for example a report shows that
some repairs have been undertaken, but you don’t think the work has been
completed properly. If you are unhappy with the implications of the
information provided to you, we will put you in direct contact with the
department concerned.’

Your request

Requests to the council are shown in italics, responses from the council
are shown in bold:

·         01/10/2018 , FOI request received:

BACKGROUND:

Debt killed my dad

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45581...

REQUEST

I would like data relating to the Nigel Hurst (deceased) and his
indebtedness to you.

This includes, but is not limited to:

1. All council tax bills.

2. Court summons.

3. Correspondence etc. with the court and bailiffs.

4. Correspondence, invoices etc. with the trustee/BDO.

5. Internal communications.

6. List time of all recorded phone calls with Mr Hurst and state if those
were recorded (I may want to ask for the recordings in a later FOIA
request.

7. Internal report in to Mr Hurst death.

Please provide all internal guidance etc. on dealing with council tax
debtors.

Please provide the total amount of the debt at time of death and how much
you have recovered

·         02/11/2018, response made:

I would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the late response
to your request for information. I am sorry that South Lakeland District
Council did not respond to your information request within the statutory
20 working days as directed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I
am grateful for your patience regarding this matter and I am sorry if this
has caused any inconvenience to you.

Given the distressing nature of the case relating to Mr Hurst, South
Lakeland District Council had already undertaken a thorough investigation
of the circumstances in this matter (long before the Radio 4 programme)
and it may be worth sharing this with you so that you have an
understanding of the circumstances perhaps not fully represented in the
radio programme.

Over a six year period between March 2007 and October 2013, the council
made more than 50 attempts to contact Mr Hurst to discuss his council tax
arrears and to offer repayment options after he stopped paying his direct
debit.

As well as letters and reminders Mr Hurst was also sent information about
debt advice and debt counselling services that could act as intermediaries
if he was unwilling to engage with the council directly.

During that six year period Mr Hurst was also sent six court summonses,
liability orders, bankruptcy warning notices and enforcement warning
letters.

Agents acting for the council visited his property on six separate
occasions to try to engage with him to discuss the arrears. Mr Hurst did
not respond to any correspondence and did not answer the door when his
property was visited. There was no successful contact with Mr Hurst during
that six year period.

It was established that Mr Hurst owned a property that contained
considerable equity, more than sufficient to cover the outstanding council
tax arrears which at this point was £9,332.

It was also established that Mr Hurst was in employment but he did not
respond to requests for information about his employer to enable the
council to pursue an Attachment of Earnings Order.

As Mr Hurst had not responded to the many attempts by the council to
contact him and offer repayment opportunities, but all the available
evidence suggested he had the means to settle the debt, the council
considered that commencing bankruptcy proceedings was the only appropriate
next course of action. Alternatives to bankruptcy proceedings would have
been to start committal proceedings which could potentially result in a
custodial sentence, or applying for a Charging Order for forced sale on
his home which could potentially have made him homeless.

Based on the evidence available the council took the view that it wasn’t
prepared to write-off the debt as there was sufficient equity in the
property to cover the debt and it was in the interests of taxpayers to try
to recover the arrears. The council decided to instigate bankruptcy
proceedings on 14 October 2013 and Mr Hurst was personally served with a
Statutory Demand on 30 October 2013.

This was a further opportunity to discuss arrangements with the council to
settle the arrears before the bankruptcy went to court. Mr Hurst failed to
respond to the demand.

A Bankruptcy Petition was then presented to the court by the council just
over two months later. Mr Hurst was personally served with the Bankruptcy
Petition in January 2014. Again, no response was received from Mr Hurst. A
Bankruptcy Order was then made by the court in March 2014 as Mr Hurst had
not engaged in the bankruptcy proceedings. Mr Hurst did not attend the
court hearing.

Following the court issuing the Bankruptcy Order, court-approved trustees,
BDO LLP, were appointed to manage the bankruptcy. To be clear, BDO LLP are
not part of South Lakeland District Council. They are an independent
trustee appointed by the courts to recover the monies owed to any
creditors. The trustee, BDO LLP, has a legal duty under the Insolvency Act
to collect the debt. The amount owed to South Lakeland District Council
did not alter or increase following the bankruptcy petition and remained
at £9,332.

·         02/11/2018 Internal review request received:

I am writing to request an internal review of South Lakeland District
Council's handling of my FOI request 'Nigel Hurst (deceased) council tax
suicide'.

Please release the data as asked.

Internal Review response

Following my review of your request, I can confirm the following response
to the considerations outlined above:

1.       Was the request handled promptly and within 20 working days?

·         The initial request was responded to 4 days late, an apology was
made for the late response

2.       Did we confirm the information was held?

·         The response gave the findings of the thorough investigation
undertaken regarding the case, rather than specific documents held

3.       Does the council hold any additional information which has not
yet been released?

·         Yes, the Council holds information relating to questions 1 to 5,
for 6 the council does not hold any information, for 7 the information
arising from the result of the investigation has already been provided to
you, there are no other internal reports. Regarding items 1 to 5 I have
considered the requested information and my response is detailed below:

1.        Redacted council tax bills are included in the attached
document. Please note the files have been redacted as necessary to remove
any personal information, except that of the deceased, eg names, direct
telephone numbers and email addresses, as they are considered personal
data. Release would be unfair to those affected and would breach the first
principle of the Data Protection Act and the personal information is
refused under Section 40(2) - someone else’s personal data.

2.        Court summons is included in the attached document.

3.        Correspondence is included in the attached document.

4.        Correspondence is included in the attached document.

5.         I consider this to be exempt under section 36 – prejudice the
conduct of public affairs. This is a qualified exemption which can only be
made by the Council’s Monitoring Officer. The correspondence may well
relate to a deceased individual but the information contained within any
internal correspondence related and relates to the free and frank
discussion of officers, advice provided from legal and other advisors. I
consider this to be a legitimate application of the exemption and that the
Council has a duty to maintain the confidence in the exchange of views of
officers etc. in this specific case. It is not in the public interest to
release this information.

4.       Was a reason given for why the request was refused?

·         Initially the request was responded to with the findings of the
thorough investigation undertaken regarding the case, rather than specific
documents held, it wasn’t specifically refused. Information has been
provided as attached for questions 1 to 4, with personal information
redacted as explained above. A refusal regarding question 5 has been
detailed in this Internal Review response. The Council does not hold any
information for questions 6 and 7.

5.       Were any exemptions applied appropriately?

·         Initially the request was responded to with the findings of the
thorough investigation undertaken regarding the case, rather than specific
documents held, it wasn’t specifically refused. Information has been
provided as attached for questions 1 to 4, with personal information
redacted as explained above. A refusal regarding question 5 has been
detailed in this Internal Review response with an explanation of the
application of exemption Section 36. The Council does not hold any
information for questions 6 and 7.

6.       Was a charge wrongly applied?

·         No charge was applied, I consider this aspect is not relevant

7.       Overall, was the request handled appropriately?

·         I apologise that the response to you took longer than 20 working
days, however I am satisfied with our handing of your request.

Should you remain dissatisfied following our internal review, you can
refer the matter directly to the Information Commissioner.

Further information is available from the Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office,

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

[2]www.ico.org.uk

Yours sincerely,

Debbie Storr | Director Policy and Resources (Monitoring Officer)

South Lakeland District Council, South Lakeland House, Lowther Street,
Kendal, Cumbria LA9 4UF

Tel: 01539 793106 | [mobile number] | Email:
[3][email address]

Website: [4]www.southlakeland.gov.uk

South Lakeland District Council Making South Lakeland the best place to
live, work and explore

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South Lakeland District Council

Making South Lakeland the best place to live, work and explore

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References

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