Local Government Ombudsman Decision (13 006 214)

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, North East Lincolnshire Council should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear North East Lincolnshire Council,

In reference to LGO Decision (13 006 214) paragraph 14

http://www.lgo.org.uk/decisions/benefits...

"14. Ms A was unhappy at how the monies she did pay were allocated to her debt. However, the Council has explained part of what she paid was properly applied to the costs she incurred through bailiff actions and again I see no fault here."

I would like disclosing all information which North East Lincolnshire Council holds on record with respect to the allocation of payments made to the complainant's account/bailiffs; the amount of fees applied and under which head of Schedule 5 to the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

Note:

If there is likely to be any data protection concerns regarding the sums, please provide payment allocation in terms of percentages.

There will be no data protection issues regarding the bailiff fees so these may be provided in terms of the applied charges.

Yours faithfully,

R. Suggitt

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

I am pleased to acknowledge your request for information, which has been
allocated the reference number 8626_1415.

Your request has been passed to the relevant department for processing and
you can expect your response within the 20 working day limit. If it will
take us longer than 20 working days to respond to you, we will inform you
of this and provide you with the expected date for receiving a response.

Further information about how we will deal with your Freedom of
Information requests is available on our website at:
[1]http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/council/the-co....

Please feel free to contact me if you require any further information or
assistance quoting the reference number above.

 

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

 

Feedback Officer

Resources Directorate

 

 

 

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PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

Thank you for your information request, reference number 8626_1415, which
asked in reference to LGO Decision (13 006 214) paragraph 14

 

"14. Ms A was unhappy at how the monies she did pay were allocated to her
debt. However, the Council has explained part of what she paid was
properly applied to the costs she incurred through bailiff actions and
again I see no fault here."

 

I would like disclosing all information which North East Lincolnshire
Council holds on record with respect to the allocation of payments made to
the complainant's account/bailiffs; the amount of fees applied and under
which head of Schedule 5 to the Council Tax (Administration and
Enforcement) Regulations 1992.

 

I wish to confirm that North East Lincolnshire Council holds the following
information.

 

Ms A paid a total of £651.30

 

The amount of fees applied and under which head of Schedule 5 to the
Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 are as
follows

 

        liability order A                  liability order B      head of
Schedule 5

1^st visit                                  £24.50                   £
24.50                  A(i)

2^nd Visit                                 £18.00                   £
18.00                  A(ii)

Levy Fee                                                              £
72.00                  B

Attendance fee                                               
  £130.00                  C

Total                                      £42.50                  
£244.50

 

The remaining money went to repay liabilities   

 

If you believe that your request for information has not been handled in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, you have the right to
request an internal review by the Council. Please be clear about which
elements of the Council’s response or handling of the request you are
unhappy with, and would like the Council to address during the internal
review process.  If following this you are still dissatisfied you may
contact the Office of the Information Commissioner. If you wish to request
an internal review, please contact me and I will make the necessary
arrangements.

 

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

 

Feedback Officer

Resources Directorate

 

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Dear PPD - FOI,

Can it be confirmed that the sum outstanding to North East Lincs Council was £1,760 at the point when bailiffs levied (£72 levy fee suggests so). And, that because the bailiffs had priority over the part payment of the outstanding monies owed, only £406.80 of the £651.30 Ms A paid the bailiff went towards paying her council tax. The remaining monies (£244.50) therefore was diverted from council services to enrich the bailiff contractor.

Yours sincerely,

R. Suggitt

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Sir / Madam

 

Thank you for your further correspondence in relation to information
request reference 8626_1415.

 

In response to your enquiry I can confirm the following

 

The levy at the time would have been worked out as per The Council Tax
(Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992, SCHEDULE 5, 2.

 

1(b)where the sum due at the time of the visit or of the levy (as the case
may be) exceeds that amount, 12½ per cent. on the first £100 of the sum
due, 4 per cent. on the next £400, 2½ per cent. on the next £1,500, 1 per
cent. on the next £8,000 and ¼ per cent. on any additional sum;

 

The costs were apportioned as per The Council Tax (Administration and
Enforcement) Regulations 1992, Regulation 52, (4)

 

Where a step is taken for the recovery of an outstanding sum which is or
forms part of an amount in respect of which a liability order has been
made and under which additional costs or charges with respect to the step
are also recoverable in accordance with this Part, any sum recovered
thereby which is less than the aggregate of the amount outstanding and
such additional costs and charges shall be treated as discharging first
the costs and charges, the balance (if any) being applied towards the
discharge of the outstanding sum.

 

Please note, that North East Lincolnshire Council cannot comment on the
transaction in relation to individual accounts.

 

If you believe that your request for information has not been handled in
accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, you have the right to
request an internal review by the Council. Please be clear about which
elements of the Council’s response or handling of the request you are
unhappy with, and would like the Council to address during the internal
review process.  If following this you are still dissatisfied you may
contact the Office of the Information Commissioner. If you wish to request
an internal review, please contact me and I will make the necessary
arrangements.

 

Yours sincerely on behalf of North East Lincolnshire Council

 

Feedback Officer

 

Resources Directorate

 

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Dear PPD - FOI,

Regulation 52(4) provides, essentially for the way the council's fees have to be accounted for. Don't forget they are the council's fees not the bailiffs and as such the arrangement with regards how the external contractor is remunerated is a distinct matter from the way costs are accounted for.

The accounting requirements would be met if the contractor was paid only on full delivery of the service thus serving the public interest because it would incentivise the contractor to deliver the fullest service before payment.

Bearing in mind that the fees are the councils, to not put in place contractual rules that prohibit the contractor claiming payment from the Council unless all the debt (including the fees) has been collected from the debtor then the public purse is being plundered with taxpayer's money being diverted to the bailiff firm.

Yours sincerely,

R. Suggitt

Dear PPD - FOI,

I highlighted in my 12 November 2014 email the possibility that North East Lincolnshire council has been misusing public money by allowing its bailiff contractor (as a priority for his fees) to keep payments made in respect of a debtor's council tax liability which in turn leaves a shortfall in council tax payments to pay for public services.

Does the council have anything to say in its defence?

Yours sincerely,

R. Suggitt

PPD - FOI, North East Lincolnshire Council

Dear Mr Suggitt

Further to your below email.

Your request does not fall within the remit of the Freedom of Information Act. It may be helpful if I explain that the Freedom of Information Act (2000) gives individuals and organisations the right of access to all types of recorded information held, at the time the request is received, by public authorities such as North East Lincolnshire Council. Section 84 of the Act states that in order for a request for information to be handled as a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, it must be for recorded information. For example, a Freedom of Information request would be for a copy of a policy, rather than an explanation as to why we have that policy in place. On occasion, North East Lincolnshire Council receives requests that do not ask for recorded information, but ask more general questions about, for example, a policy, opinion or a decision. In this instance I am satisfied that your request falls outside of the scope of the Freedom of Information Act as it is not a request for recorded information but is a request for a statement of response in respect of the issues you have raised.

If you believe that your request for information has not been handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, you have the right to request an internal review by the Council. Please be clear about which elements of the Council’s response or handling of the request you are unhappy with, and would like the Council to address during the internal review process. If following this you are still dissatisfied you may contact the Office of the Information Commissioner. If you wish to request an internal review, please contact me and I will make the necessary arrangements.

Yours sincerley

Feedback Officer
North East Lincolnshire Council

Confidentiality Note: I am not authorised to bind my authority contractually, nor to make representations or other statements which may bind the authority in any way via electronic means.

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