Councillors late to pay council tax won’t be named ‘to protect them from distress’

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Council tax form

Only one of the five councillors have been named (Image: Northern Echo)

Five London councillors for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea failed to make council tax payments on time between January 2018 and January 2021. Only one of the five councillors has been named, reports My London.

The council refused to reveal the names of the five councillors after a Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in 2021 found that they had owed a combined total of £6,960.04.

The authority claimed the missed payments were personal information that shouldn’t be disclosed – despite other authorities naming councillors in response to similar FOI requests.

The highest amount of council tax owed by an individual councillor was £4,187.29, according to the council’s own FOI response, followed by £1,654.66, £799.43, £172.00 and £146.00.

The LDRS understands the councillors who failed to pay tax are from a mix of political parties.

Bailiffs were instructed to contact one councillor, the council’s FOI response stated, but all of the members have since paid off their debts.

Two of the councillor who failed to pay council tax on time between 2018 and 2021 were summoned to court, but the information watchdog has still decided not to name them.

A local authority can take legal action to demand a resident pays council tax by asking a magistrate for a liability order.

A council can also charge a resident for the legal costs of hiring a lawyer.

There is a maximum prison sentence of three months for refusing to pay council tax without a good reason.

Only one of the RBKC councillors who failed to make payments on time has now been named after a ruling by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which was set up to improve scrutiny of public bodies.

The ICO has ruled four councillors should not be named after an appeal by the LDRS.

The watchdog said one member, only dubbed “Cllr 5” in documents, should not be named after the council supposedly provided evidence of “exceptional mitigating circumstances”.

The decision by the ICO continued: “I am satisfied that their name should be protected … disclosure of the name could lead the individual and/or their family to be the subject of considerable further harm and distress.”

The document also said “Cllr 1” and “Cllr 3” will not be named because neither of them were given a court summons for failing to make council tax payments on time.

Councillors who fall into council tax arrears of more than two months can be banned from voting on council budget matters.

The ICO report said this did not apply to these two members as they paid what they owed within the two-month time limit.

It adds: “They paid the council tax in full after receipt of a reminder notice.”

The LDRS also found “Cllr 2”, owed £4,187.29 between 2018 and 2020.

The ICO ruled they would not be named as they are no longer an elected official.

Conservative councillor Dori Schmetterling agreed to be named as one of the members who hadn’t paid council tax on time.

Cllr Schmetterling was given a notice on January 2, 2020 reminding him to pay £179 for the 2019 council tax year, the ICO decision said.

He then made the payment on January 15, only 13 days later.

He was not at any point summoned to court.

Cllr Schmetterling, who represents Pembridge ward, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he doesn’t remember why he didn’t make the payment on time but assumes there may have been an administrative issue.

He added: “Why are you wasting your time on this? Frankly, I’m sure there’s bigger fish to fry than finding out why someone didn’t pay for a month or two.

“I don’t remember why I didn’t pay for a month or two. I have no recollection.”

A Kensington and Chelsea spokesperson previously told the LDRS: “We pursue non-payment from all our residents, regardless of their role.

“It has been a financially challenging time for many during the pandemic and we have provided a Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

“If residents are concerned about paying their council tax, they should contact the council to discuss their circumstances.”





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