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Undefended/Bulk Liability Orders = Extortionate Costs

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Dear Billing Authority

Complaints to Magistrates for Council Tax (CT) Liability Orders.

Going as far back as is reasonable (eg 5 years), up to the most recent data available, Please could you provide me with a table of information under the following headings:-

1. Date Of hearing
2. Number of CT Accounts Listed on a Complaint
3. Total Court fee paid
4. length of hearing defended/undefended
5. Number of CT accounts Liability Order made against
6. Total costs awarded to Billing authority
7. Actual cost of preparing for and attending the hearing.

Yours faithfully,

Lady Fleming

Right2Know,

Dear Lady Fleming

 

Thank you for your request of information which is being considered. You
may be aware that we have to respond to Freedom of Information (FOI)
requests within 20 working days and as soon as is reasonably practicable,
therefore you will receive a response by Tuesday 5^th March 2019 or
earlier.

 

For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions, which may
prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then some or all
of the information may not be released. You will be informed if this is
the case, including your rights of appeal.

 

If any of the information you have requested is not contained in a
recorded format, South Norfolk Council is not obliged to create
information for the purpose of responding to your request

 

There may be a fee payable for ‘reasonable disbursement’ costs such as
postage and photocopying. This will be considered and you will be informed
if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must be paid before the
information is processed and released. The 20 working day time limit for
responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

 

If you have any queries or concerns then please let me know.  If you do
contact us again concerning this request, please quote FOI 19-90.

 

Regards

 

Chelsea Lee

Business Support Apprentice

 t 01508 533 866  e [email address]  

 

This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may
be confidential. If they come to you in error you must take no action
based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please advise the
sender by replying to this email immediately and then delete the original
from your computer. Unless this email relates to Broadland District
Council or South Norfolk Council business it will be regarded by the
council as personal and will not be authorised by or sent on behalf of the
councils. The sender will have sole responsibility for any legal actions
or disputes that may arise. We have taken steps to ensure that this email
and any attachments are free from known viruses but in keeping with good
computing practice, you should ensure they are virus free. Emails sent
from and received by members and employees of Broadland District Council
and South Norfolk Council may be monitored. 

show quoted sections

Right2Know,

5 Attachments

Dear Lady Fleming

 

I refer to your Freedom of Information request to which I am now in a
position to respond. My response is outlined below along with your
questions for ease of reference.

 

As reference, liability court hearings are held monthly and the court fee
has been charged at £3 per summons for a number of years but due to a
Justice ruling has been reduced to 50p per summons. The cost element we
apply to each case has been reviewed regularly but yearly since the
Reverend Nicholson ruling in 2015.

 

For your information, as an example the actual costs calculated for the
2018/19 period were calculated at £73.68p but it was decided to retain the
£70 amount.

 

2014/15

 1. The Council attends a hearing every month in respect of unpaid council
tax
 2. 5685 council tax accounts were listed as complaints in this year
 3. £17,055 in fees over the whole year
 4. Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am
advising you that the Council does not hold the information you have
requested as we do not record this information.
 5. 2886 Liability Orders were granted in this year
 6. Cost of preparation and attendance was £70 per case. Please note that
the number of cases in each month varies – please refer to answer
above for annual figure.

 

2015/16

 1. The Council attends a hearing every month in respect of unpaid council
tax
 2. 5197 council tax accounts were listed as complaints in this year
 3. £15,591 in fees over the whole year
 4. Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am
advising you that the Council does not hold the information you have
requested as we do not record this information.
 5. 2295 Liability Orders were granted in this year
 6. Cost of preparation and attendance was £70 per case. Please note that
the number of cases in each month varies – please refer to answer
above for annual figure.

 

2016/17

 1. The Council attends a hearing every month in respect of unpaid council
tax
 2. 4356 council tax accounts were listed as complaints in this year
 3. £13,068 in fees over the whole year
 4. Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am
advising you that the Council does not hold the information you have
requested as we do not record this information.
 5. 2166 Liability Orders were granted in this year
 6. Cost of preparation and attendance was £70 per case. Please note that
the number of cases in each month varies – please refer to answer
above for annual figure.

 

2017/18

 1. The Council attends a hearing every month in respect of unpaid council
tax
 2. 4317 council tax accounts were listed as complaints in this year
 3. £12,951 in fees over the whole year
 4. Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am
advising you that the Council does not hold the information you have
requested as we do not record this information.
 5. 2231 Liability Orders were granted in this year
 6. Cost of preparation and attendance was £70 per case. Please note that
the number of cases in each month varies – please refer to answer
above for annual figure.

 

 

2018/19

 1. The Council attends a hearing every month in respect of unpaid council
tax
 2. 4279 council tax accounts were listed as complaints this year to date
 3. £2139.50 in fees over the whole year
 4. Under section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am
advising you that the Council does not hold the information you have
requested as we do not record this information.
 5. 2342 to date Liability Orders were granted in this year
 6. Cost of preparation and attendance was £70 per case. Please note that
the number of cases in each month varies – please refer to answer
above for annual figure.

 

I hope this is of assistance and is sufficient to meet your requirements,
but if, for whatever reason you wish to get back to me, please feel free
to do so. In particular if you are unhappy with the information provided
or how your request was handled please let me know and I will explain how
you can request an internal review of our decision. 

 

Please quote FOI 19-90 in any further correspondence concerning this
request.

 

Regards

 

Emma Goddard
Senior Governance Officer & Deputy Monitoring Officer
t 01508 533943 e [email address]  

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This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may
be confidential. If they come to you in error you must take no action
based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please advise the
sender by replying to this email immediately and then delete the original
from your computer. Unless this email relates to Broadland District
Council or South Norfolk Council business it will be regarded by the
council as personal and will not be authorised by or sent on behalf of the
councils. The sender will have sole responsibility for any legal actions
or disputes that may arise. We have taken steps to ensure that this email
and any attachments are free from known viruses but in keeping with good
computing practice, you should ensure they are virus free. Emails sent
from and received by members and employees of Broadland District Council
and South Norfolk Council may be monitored. 

From: Right2Know
Sent: 12 February 2019 11:51
To: Lady Fleming <[FOI #550426 email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request 19-90 - Undefended/Bulk
Liability Orders = Extortionate Costs

 

Dear Lady Fleming

 

Thank you for your request of information which is being considered. You
may be aware that we have to respond to Freedom of Information (FOI)
requests within 20 working days and as soon as is reasonably practicable,
therefore you will receive a response by Tuesday 5^th March 2019 or
earlier.

 

For your information, the Act defines a number of exemptions, which may
prevent release of the information you have requested. There will be an
assessment and if any of the exemption categories apply then some or all
of the information may not be released. You will be informed if this is
the case, including your rights of appeal.

 

If any of the information you have requested is not contained in a
recorded format, South Norfolk Council is not obliged to create
information for the purpose of responding to your request

 

There may be a fee payable for ‘reasonable disbursement’ costs such as
postage and photocopying. This will be considered and you will be informed
if a fee is payable. In this event the fee must be paid before the
information is processed and released. The 20 working day time limit for
responses is suspended until receipt of the payment.

 

If you have any queries or concerns then please let me know.  If you do
contact us again concerning this request, please quote FOI 19-90.

 

Regards

 

Chelsea Lee

Business Support Apprentice

 t 01508 533 866  e [7][email address]  

 

This email and any attachments are intended for the addressee only and may
be confidential. If they come to you in error you must take no action
based on them, nor must you copy or show them to anyone. Please advise the
sender by replying to this email immediately and then delete the original
from your computer. Unless this email relates to Broadland District
Council or South Norfolk Council business it will be regarded by the
council as personal and will not be authorised by or sent on behalf of the
councils. The sender will have sole responsibility for any legal actions
or disputes that may arise. We have taken steps to ensure that this email
and any attachments are free from known viruses but in keeping with good
computing practice, you should ensure they are virus free. Emails sent
from and received by members and employees of Broadland District Council
and South Norfolk Council may be monitored. 

show quoted sections

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are Lady Fleming please sign in and let everyone know.