Agenda item

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, Councillor Angela Gunning proposed, and Councillor James Walsh seconded, the adoption of the following motion:

“At a time of increasing financial pressure and rising unemployment, it is important that safeguards are in place to protect and support residents facing the possibility of falling into debt.

The inability to pay council tax is something that can affect us all: from residents dealing with the stress and uncertainty of not being able to pay their bills, to councils increasingly dependent on local income following a decade of central government cuts.

The Citizens’ Advice Bureau has worked with the Local Government Association to create a “Revised Collection of Council Tax Arrears Good Practice Protocol” which calls for councils to improve existing practices for offering advice, support and payment options for residents facing difficulties in paying their council tax. A copy is attached as Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Council.

While Guildford Borough Council has a good record in the collection of council tax

arrears, the Labour Group believes that adopting the protocol will strengthen the process by linking debt advice to repayment schemes and enabling early intervention before a crisis point is reached. This will benefit both our residents and the council, which is under increasing pressure to collect as much income as possible to support local services.

To date, 61 councils of all political stripes across England have already adopted the

policy and the Labour Group calls on Guildford Borough Council to adopt the protocol as soon as is practical.

This Council resolves to request the Executive:

(1)     To adopt the CAB/LGA “Revised Collection of Council Tax Arrears Good Practice Protocol” as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Council.

(2)     To authorise the Director of Resources to report back to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the impact of the protocol on council tax collection rates and customer satisfaction one year following its implementation”.

Following the debate on the motion, Councillor George Potter proposed, and Councillor Will Salmon seconded, the following amendment:

Delete everything from the end of 'This Council resolves to request the Executive' onwards and insert:

“To authorise the Director of Resources to review the CAB/LGA “Revised Collection of Council Tax Arrears Good Practice Protocol” as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Council and to report back to the relevant EAB with details as to where the Council's current approach differs from the CAB/LGA protocol in order to enable a recommendation on the protocol to be made by the EAB."

Following the debate on the amendment, it was put to the vote and was carried.  Under the Remote Meetings Protocol, a roll call was taken to record the vote on the amendment, the results of which were 32 councillors voting in favour, none against, and 12 abstentions, as follows:

The motion, as amended, therefore became the substantive motion for debate.

Having debated the substantive motion, the Council

RESOLVED:  To authorise the Director of Resources to review the CAB/LGA “Revised Collection of Council Tax Arrears Good Practice Protocol” as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Council and to report back to the relevant EAB with details as to where the Council's current approach differs from the CAB/LGA protocol in order to enable a recommendation on the protocol to be made by the EAB.

Under the Remote Meetings Protocol, a roll call was taken to record the vote on the substantive motion, the results of which were 36 councillors voting in favour, none against, and 8 abstentions, as follows: