Issue - meetings

Questions by the Public

Meeting: 26/01/2015 - City Council (Item 59)

Webcast for 26/01/2015 - City Council

QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC

To receive questions from and provide answers to the public in relation to matters which are about something the council is responsible for or something that directly affects people in the city, in accordance with Part B, paragraph 11 of the Constitution.

Questions, of no longer than 50 words, can be submitted to the Democratic Support Unit, Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Plymouth, PL1 2AA, or email to democraticsupport@plymouth.gov.uk. Any questions must be received at least five complete working days before the meeting.

Additional documents:

Webcast for QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC

Minutes:

Three questions were submitted by members of the public for this meeting, in accordance with Part B, paragraph 11 of the Constitution.

In the absence of Mr Sharpe, the following question and response were circulated and a written response would be sent to him after the meeting -

Question No	Question By	Cabinet Member	Subject
Q11(14/15)	Mr Sharpe	Councillor Peter Smith (Deputy Leader)	Plymstock Swimming Pool: comments received
Please could it be disclosed how many comments (of any type) the City Council has received from January 2014 until now on the subject of a Plymstock Swimming Pool and Site.
Response Twenty nine, including comments received on Downham School site.

Mr Williams attended the meeting and asked the following question. Councillor Lowry responded as set out below -

Question No	Question By	Cabinet Member	Subject
Q12 (14/15)	Mr Williams	Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance)	Magistrates’ Court hearings for non-payment of Council Tax
Why does the Authority actively dissuade Council Tax payers summoned to the Magistrates’ Court from attending their actual court hearing? Is it because the Authority believes that it will much more likely be awarded full costs from the Court if the tax payer fails to attend, and thus gain income?
Response Court proceedings for non-payment of Council Tax are used as a last resort and are certainly not used as a method for increasing income. We do not actively dissuade people from attending court in person. The majority of queries from customers who have received a summons for non-payment of council tax are around the reasons they have not paid on time or about payment terms. We do advise customers that these issues are unlikely to affect the Magistrate’s decision.

Mr Morris attended the meeting and asked the following question. Councillor Lowry responded as set out below -

Question No	Question By	Cabinet Member	Subject
Q13(14/15)	Mr Morris	Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance)	Failure to pay Council Tax - court summons
According to a report in the Herald, more than 15,000 court summons have been issued this financial year. How many hundreds of thousands of pounds have been added to the individuals' indebtedness to the Council as a consequence?
Response It is not correct that ‘many hundreds of thousands of pounds’ has been added to debts of people who haven’t paid their council tax. If someone receives a court summons for not paying their Council Tax there is an additional charge of £40. This charge means that residents who pay their Council Tax on time do not have to pay for those who haven’t. The Council has issued 16,911 summons in the financial year 2014/15.