Action plan to tackle debt in Calderdale with problems around Council Tax

Council Tax was often found to be at the centre of debt problems, said Strategy and Performance Scrutiny Board Chair, Coun Ashley Evans (Lib Dem, Warley), presenting the report to Calderdale Council’s Cabinet, who will study its recommendations and report back on progress in the summer.

“An example of this is Council Tax payments which is frequently one of the most significant aspects where people do fall into debt,” he said.

Reviewing the relationship between council departments over this was something Cabinet should look at, said Coun Evans.

Cabinet member for Resources, Coun Silvia Dacre (Lab, Todmorden) agreed it would be good to review procedures as it was often the case that people would “put their head in the sand” when they got a letter from the council about arrears and then seek out councillors for help – often the issue was resolved and it cost the council more pursuing a course of action.

Coun Steven Leigh (Con, Ryburn) said the action group’s finding was something of a shock to members looking at causes of debt: “I really was most surprised that probably the biggest individual reason for that was with the Council Tax – I don’t think any of us expected that,” he said.

Better public relations especially making it clear where people could get help over a range of debt issues was vital, said Coun Evans.

“It was evident people who needed support were not aware help was available or how to access it,” he said.

Coun Evans said tackling situations early was critical and closer working between all services who could help was essential.

“In order to maximise the benefits for the people in need of the advice we are strongly of the opinion that there is a need to improve the co-ordination and collaboration between each of the groups who provide information, and that is one of the key points of the report.

“The focus on prevention in order to stop people falling into debt and becoming more complex, challenging situations for them – early intervention is an important issue, an important approach, to dealing with the problem,” he said.

Coun Evans said the report and recommendations began as a council motion on pay day loans but eventually it was decided to expand the review to look at wider issue of problem debt.

Provision of face-to-face meetings for people needing help was critical, and Cabinet should consider the shortfall between national and local level funding to help the voluntary sector bridge the gap.

Extra budget support might be needed and Cabinet needed to look at this on an invest to save basis – problems dealt with later cost more to sort out.

Coun Jenny Lynn (Lab, Town) had said work had begun on some of the issues raised in the report, which was a timely one with national warnings about the cost of living increasing.

Coun Dacre said two staff had been assigned to address the Council Tax issue but did now show up in the figures as the cost of employing them was contained within the budget.

She agreed about the need to ensure people were getting help they were entitled to, for example the single person allowance and whether people were eligible for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.

Housing partners needed to address some issues, for example, the working group’s research found historic rent arrears formed a barrier to new tenancies, said Coun Evans.

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