questions for council tax and business rates

Dear Sir or Madam,

questions for council tax and business rates

A forward note.

In relation to the collection and cost and administration of
council tax

Please proved the information for all years that you have records
for all years from 2000 up to the current year.

Prior information.

What actions /policy changes have been applied by the council to
improve collection rates of council tax collection / business rates
since 2000 and what date did they come into affect from

Please can you if possible split the answers for the questions
below for council tax and business rates

The number of notices sent each year.

1 How many are sent within April, before the end of the month.

The number of summons

1 How many are sent within within the first 14 weeks

2. what conditions/consideration are used to deicide weather to go
to this stage.

3. who is responsible to the public for the management of this
figure and the funds it generates

4. the figure is quite regular from 2003, has there been any
reviews to see who ( what sector of the public ) is affected by
this. IE ( do we make sure that this figure does not include many
working poor )

Number of Liability Orders

1. how many of this number are already paying previous council taxs
under agreement or arraignment

2. what conditions/consideration are used to deicide weather to go
to this stage.

3. who is responsible to the public for the management of this
figure and the funds it generates

4. the figure is quite regular from 2003, has there been any
reviews to see who ( what sector of the public ) is affected by
this. IE ( do we make sure that this figure does not include many
working poor )

5. How many of these liability orders end up being the same amount
due from the public at the end of the year. ( ie how many get
reduced due to changes in circumstance )

6. Is someone that’s been served a liability order still a
successful collection, ( re collection rate )

7.

Profit Generated from liability orders

1. Can I have a complete input and output for this account with
relative dates, for each year from 2000 because I am trying to find
out the following

1 How much of this figure get paid to bailiffs or in respect of
bailiffs action and can it be broken down into reasons ( ie
corrected mistakes in relation to who’s liable, none collectables,
incorrect accounts, benefit changes )

2. How much of this figure is used to pay council staff and what
staff does it pay

3. Who decides on the break up and payments of this money

4. what reviews have been done on this figure and what were there
findings. ( probably no reviews )

5. Who would be responsible for keeping an eye on this figure for
the public.

6. How much is used to pay local solicitors and can that be broken
down by solicitor.

Cases sent to bailiffs

1. how many of these cases are sent to the bailiff for current year
that the council tax is due for

2. How many of the cases sent to the bailiffs end up being
corrected afterwards by the council ()

3. Who in our council is responsible for reviewing the efficiency
of these action ( ie who is responsible to the public )

4. What reviews have been done in relation to the amount of cases
sent and the impact on the public .5. How many cases get returned
by the bailiffs each year and for what general reasons

6 What are the conditions that you give to the bailiffs in relation
to there interactions with the public in relation to collecting (
ie vulnerable people )

7. What review have been done into the effectiveness of this method
of collection and what dates were they done.

8. What consideration has been done by the council in relation to
the profits generated by the bailiffs in relation to collecting
council tax/nndr and what were there outcomes

9 How many of the cases that are sent to the bailiffs for people
that are not in receipt of benefit, end up with the people claiming
benefits for that or subsequent years

10 How many cases get sent to the courts/baillif for people in
receipt of benefits for that year..

11. How much is incorrectly paid to bailiffs by the public each
year.

Other actions taken by our council against the tax payers

Can you list for each year, the following.

1. Bankruptcy threatened

2. Bankruptcy action started

3. Bankruptcy action completed

4. What is the total costs for each of the above actions, ( If
costable )

5. How many attachment of earnings do we achieve each year

6. please list all further actions taken between liability orders
and bankruptcy that the council tax do against the tax payers each
year.

7. Please list any reviews that you have done on the above figures
and point to the outcome

8 What is the total costs for each of the above actions, ( If
costable )

The collection rates of council tax.

Can you explain how you achieve such a high published collection
rate and how the above figures are reflected in the published rate

Can you explain what the consequence of a low published collection
rate would have on the staff, senior management and cabinet of the
council

Yours faithfully,

George Cant