The Shepwayvox Team can exclusively reveal that Cllr David Wimble (Ind) (pictured) Cabinet Member for the District Economy, responsible for Economic development, regeneration, tourism, heritage (conservation), business rate relief and planning policy is currently in arrears with his Council Tax payments according to Folkestone & Hythe District Council. This is not the first time he has had problems with his council tax. We have reported he had issues in April 2016.
In a response to an FoI sent by our public face, Folkestone & Hythe District Council have confirmed that Cllr Wimble is in arrears. A pre summons letters has been sent to Cllr Wimble to pay up. It is understood that he has agreed to a repayment plan with the council.
We note, Cllr David Monk Leader of the Council gave Cllr Wimble a seat on the Cabinet to prop up his minority conservative administration. Did he know his Cabinet member had issues with his council tax?
These are not the only financial issues Cllr Wimble has. As a director in Marsh Media Limited who publish the Looker magazine, which is a closet Tory mouthpiece for the Marsh. According to companies House the latest set of accounts lodged on the 27 July 2018, clearly show Cllr Wimble’s company is in significant financial difficulty as its debts have jumped from £6,590 pounds to £53,367, in a single financial year. Cllr Wimble in an email to our public face says, the debt are loans from him propping up the company. However, he has never provided any evidence or proof of such loans when asked.
Cllr Wimble is in our honest opinion a fantasist. He is a Cllr who is irresponsible and lacking integrityof any description. It would be wise and prudent for Cllr Monk to remove him from his Cabinet position in humble opinion. There is an inherent public interest and value in scrutinising elected officials such as Cllr Wimble, particularly when this would further inform the public on how that individual has conducted themselves in office. Council tax default strikes at the heart of the performance of a councillor’s functions(see para 40).
We can also inform you a Cllr who was not re-elected to office in May 2019, was also in Council Tax arrears. Who the Councillor was is NOT known, nor can be known as the High Court has determined that in order for interference into an individual’s rights to privacy to be necessary, there must be a pressing social need for disclosure. As the former Cllr is no longer in office, disclosure of this specific data is not necessary, as the public interest in disclosure considerably lessens following an elected official’s departure from office.
“But, in the case of a councillor, it is not only a private matter. A councillor is a public official with public responsibilities to which non-payment of council tax is directly and significantly relevant. A number of specific features of this were advanced in submissions to the First-tier Tribunal. In particular, section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 bars a councillor from voting on the Council’s budget if he or she has an outstanding council tax debt of over two months. If a councillor is present at any meeting at which relevant matters are discussed, he or she must disclose that section 106 applies and may not vote. Failure to comply is a criminal offence. Thus council tax default strikes at the heart of the performance of a councillor’s functions. It is evident that setting the council’s budget is one of the most important roles undertaken by councillors. The loss of one vote could make a fundamental difference to the outcome. This adds a significant public dimension to the non-payment of council tax. The very fact that Parliament has legislated in this way reflects the connection between non-payment and the councillor’s public functions. Moreover, as the Commissioner observed in his decision notice, recent failure to pay council tax is likely to impact on public perceptions and confidence in a councillor as a public figure.”
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In Haslam v Information Commissioner and Bolton Council [2016] UKUT 0139 (AAC) (10 March 2016) it states at Para 40 the following:
“But, in the case of a councillor, it is not only a private matter. A councillor is a public official with public responsibilities to which non-payment of council tax is directly and significantly relevant. A number of specific features of this were advanced in submissions to the First-tier Tribunal. In particular, section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 bars a councillor from voting on the Council’s budget if he or she has an outstanding council tax debt of over two months. If a councillor is present at any meeting at which relevant matters are discussed, he or she must disclose that section 106 applies and may not vote. Failure to comply is a criminal offence. Thus council tax default strikes at the heart of the performance of a councillor’s functions. It is evident that setting the council’s budget is one of the most important roles undertaken by councillors. The loss of one vote could make a fundamental difference to the outcome. This adds a significant public dimension to the non-payment of council tax. The very fact that Parliament has legislated in this way reflects the connection between non-payment and the councillor’s public functions. Moreover, as the Commissioner observed in his decision notice, recent failure to pay council tax is likely to impact on public perceptions and confidence in a councillor as a public figure.”