One of the better things to come out of the last Mendip full council meeting (see here) was a verbal reply by the Cabinet member for finance, to my question on the council’s use of Capita-owned enforcement agents (formerly known as bailiffs) to collect Council Tax in relation to people in financial distress. I asked whether, after my motion was approved in 2015, and Mendip agreed to work to a good practice protocol with Mendip Citizens Advice, the protocol was working? My question can be seen in full here. We were assured that it was working well, and the numbers of reminders, summons, liability orders and attachments to earnings or benefits, were all down on recent years, with no fall in the amount of Council Tax collected. I understand that there has also been a dramatic fall in the number of bailiff ‘knocks on the door’.

So it seems that people in financial need are getting more support and advice and agreeing affordable payments rather being subjected to formal enforcement proceedings, than before. I brought the motion in 2015 after gaining local knowledge from Community Credit Union and Citizens Advice volunteers, and seeing national charities’ evidence of the harm that formal enforcement can have on struggling families. The measures introduced were also praised in Parliament. If anyone is having problems with this or other issues please let me know at cllr.boyden@mendip.gov.uk. There is always more that can be done. For more detail on this please see here.

Adam Boyden, Mendip District Councillor for Frome College ward and Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Somerton & Frome (Lib Dem)

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