Council Tax & Bailiffs
The Pony express has just arrived. It brings gifts from my two trusted elfs who undertook their arduous tasks at the Council Chamber last night[30/09/15] with courage and commitment, their bravery will be mentioned in dispatches. We shall remember them.
The news from the Civic Centre where both of my trusted elf’s asked a public question and a supplementary question in the chamber. The most important questions was
“What are the numbers of Shepway residents who have received a summons to court for non payment of council tax and received letters from bailiffs employed by SDC for non payment of council tax for the years 2003-18 August 2015?”
The answers are as follows.
2003 Summons to court 6559
Bailiff letters sent 841
2004 Summons to court 7286
Bailiff letters sent 1271
2005 Summons to court 6868
Bailiff letters sent 1277
2006 Summons to court 6995
Bailiff letters sent 956
2007 Summons to court 6819
Bailiff letter sent 1196
2008 Summons to court 8721
Bailiff letters sent 1574
2009 Summons to court 8479
Bailiff letters sent 635
2010 Summons to court 8727
Bailiff letters sent 2130
2011 Summons to court 8161
Bailiff letters sent 1866
2012 Summons to court 7963
Bailiff letters sent 1346
2013 Summons to court 12,304
Bailiff letters sent 1649
2014 Summons to court 11,235
Bailiff letters sent 1808
2015 Summons to court 6031
Bailiff letters sent 689
Total Summons to Court 106,106
Total Bailiff Letters Sent 17,266
Total 123,372
Figures for 2015 are from Jan – 18/08/15
So it appears there are a lot of people who are struggling to pay their Council Tax. The structural reforms made by the CON-DEM govt (2010-2015) and the implementation of a 18% contribution towards their Council Tax for those unemployed has increased dramatically since 2013.
Also if we take the fact that those who receive housing benefit [LHA] is 2138 and 2136 receive the maximum award and they have to top up their rent on average by 21.50 per week. This means a single male in receipt of Jobseekers allowance of 144.80 per FORTNIGHT losses 43.00 pounds from that sum immediately.
144.80
– 43.00
————-
101.80
101.80 to last a fortnight to buy food, pay electricity, water, gas, buy clothes send job applications, attend interviews, pay council tax. Is it possible? Could you do it. Iain Duncan-Smith has oft reported he could but never tried. I’d ask any Cllr of the SDC Chamber to try, for one month.
The Supplementary question posed by my trusted elf was:
What are the numbers of Shepway Cllrs who have received a summons to court for non payment of council tax and received letters from bailiffs employed by SDC for non payment of council tax for the years 2003 – 9/9/15 2015?”
The Answer to this question will be placed on SDC’s website in the near future. Shepwayvox waits with baited breath.
Apparently at the end of the supplementary question mumurs of Data Protection were heard from around the Chamber. Numbers thankfully, unlike names of Cllrs, are not protected by Data Protection or Human Rights.
ShepwayVox
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