Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people who are severely mentally impaired received an exemption or a discount on council tax in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local authorities are responsible for administering council tax, including exemptions such as those available to someone assessed as being severely mentally impaired. Authorities should satisfy themselves that an individual has both a certificate from a medical practitioner and is entitled to one of a range of listed benefits, including Attendance Allowance. Attendance Allowance is available to people of State Pension Age who have had care or supervision needs for at least six months. Councils should ensure that any applications for a council tax exemption are dealt with as quickly as possible.
Data are collected for England by local authorities and the latest data, for 2022-23, can be (attached) found here.
Data are not collected on the number of people who are severely mentally impaired and receive an exemption.
Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that severely mentally impaired persons who are entitled to attendance allowance qualify for an exception or a discount on council tax within six months of being diagnosed as severely medically impaired by a medical practitioner.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Local authorities are responsible for administering council tax, including exemptions such as those available to someone assessed as being severely mentally impaired. Authorities should satisfy themselves that an individual has both a certificate from a medical practitioner and is entitled to one of a range of listed benefits, including Attendance Allowance. Attendance Allowance is available to people of State Pension Age who have had care or supervision needs for at least six months. Councils should ensure that any applications for a council tax exemption are dealt with as quickly as possible.
Data are collected for England by local authorities and the latest data, for 2022-23, can be (attached) found here.
Data are not collected on the number of people who are severely mentally impaired and receive an exemption.
Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the recommendations of their review, which promised to make council tax collection fairer and more efficient, launched on 10 April 2019, will be published.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department has been working closely with a range of billing authorities, debt advice charities and civil enforcement agencies to better understand the approaches taken in local government in collecting council tax. On the basis of this work, the Department is now preparing guidance setting out the best practice that already exists in the collection and enforcement of council tax. This will be published as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the new guidance to local authorities on the collection of unpaid Council Tax to end aggressive enforcement tactics, announced on 10 April 2019, will be issued.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department has been working closely with a range of billing authorities, debt advice charities and civil enforcement agencies to better understand the approaches taken in local government in collecting council tax. On the basis of this work, the Department is now preparing guidance setting out the best practice that already exists in the collection and enforcement of council tax. This will be published as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) organisations, (2) charities, (3) debt advice services, and (4) local authorities were consulted as part of their review on unpaid Council Tax arrears, announced on 10 April 2019.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The Department has been working closely with a range of billing authorities, debt advice charities and civil enforcement agencies to better understand the approaches taken in local government in collecting council tax. On the basis of this work, the Department is now preparing guidance setting out the best practice that already exists in the collection and enforcement of council tax. This will be published as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a pre-action protocol for councils which would encourage the negotiation of affordable rent payment plans with tenants before seeking bailiff enforcement action following the end of the current moratorium on new evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Greenhalgh
The existing Pre-Action Protocol for social landlords (attached) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/pre-action-protocol-for-possession-claims-by-social-landlords encourages landlords and tenants to try to agree affordable sums for the tenant to pay towards rent arrears based on the tenant’s income and expenditure. Landlords are encouraged to do this as soon as possible and to postpone commencing court proceedings for as long as the tenant keeps to such agreement, or to adjourn proceedings if an agreement is reached after proceedings are begun. The failure of a landlord to comply with the protocol may be taken into account by the court in deciding what orders to make.
There are currently no plans to revise this protocol.