Justin & Russell Highlight Swindon's Excellent Work On Reducing Enforcement Referrals

Justin Tomlinson MP and Cllr. Russell Holland have highlighted the excellent work Swindon Borough Council has undertaken to reduce the number of cases referred to enforcement officers at an event in Parliament. 

Cllr. Holland, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Deputy Leader of Swindon Borough Council, has been working tirelessly alongside officers and Justin to ensure that the Council has the powers it needs to reduce the number of cases of unpaid Council Tax. Since becoming the Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr. Holland has been working 

Justin has been working closely with Ministers to encourage them to quickly implement the findings of the Ollerenshaw Review, which made a number of recommendations about how local authorities can ensure they collect Council Tax in a fair way. These recommendations included removing the charge levied on individuals when a case is referred to court as this simply increases the amount an individual owes and reduces the likelihood the amount owed will be paid at all. 

During the meeting, Justin and Russell shared Swindon's best practice with officials from councils across the country including Manchester, Liverpool and Wells. Last year Swindon Borough Council referred just over 8,000 cases to enforcement officers. While the figure seems high, it is lower than local authorities of a similar size to Swindon and it is down significantly over the past two years.

Justin Tomlinson MP said: "Russell and the team at Swindon Borough Council have worked incredible hard to reduce the number Council Tax cases that are referred to enforcement officers and I am delighted that he has had the opportunity to share this work with the APPG. In working more closely with residents, and reducing the number of cases the Council has to prosecute, we've seen a dramatic fall the number of people locally who aren't paying their Council Tax. This, alongside the support the Council offers, means that we are seeing an ever-improving situation in Swindon”.