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