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| Lib Dem-run South Somerset District Council COVERING UP Councillors Who Don't Pay Up! |
UPDATED (28/10/21): FINALLY SSDC Gives Us The Names...
This is DEFINITELY after the deadlines imposed by law regarding Freedom of Information requests and also definitely more than 5 days after the Council's legal officer ruled that they should give the names.
Somerset Independents has written to councillors that were in arrears on their council tax, to give them a right of reply.
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Somerset Independents has been campaigning to expose councillors in Somerset who have not paid their council tax.
We have not pursued private individuals. In fact, we have sympathy for private individuals who have struggled. So we have campaigned against all four district councils and the County Council putting up your council tax.
Councillors are not private individuals when they hold public office.
And councillors put up your council tax, despite the fact that some councillors DID NOT PAY THE COUNCIL TAX THAT THEY WERE DUE!
We have exposed the councillors in Somerset West and Taunton Council and Mendip District Council (MDC) who did not pay up, although Mendip District Council are covering up the identity of one councillor who did not pay.
We have taken MDC to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO regulates Freedom of Information requests.
And we have also been forced to take South Somerset District Council (SSDC) to the ICO, because they have refused our requests for information on their councillors who did not pay. The ICO is considering this case and of course we are helping them with their enquiries, providing them with the information on SSDC's refusals to comply.
Here is just a flavour of the disgraceful record of avoiding paying council tax by South Somerset District Councillors, taking quotes directly from the information provided to us by SSDC.
Please note that some shortfalls in council tax go back to BEFORE COVID:
- Councillor 1 "£1874.07 in arrears and £259.42 on a previous account."
- Councillor 2 "Vacated this address with outstanding balance of £1328.66, £470.62 of which is in arrears and subject to a liability order. Full balance due 10th May."
- Councillor 3 "£834.22 in arrears, £678.46 relates to last financial year. Application for disregard in progress but SMI application will be turned down".
- Councillor 4 "£842.97 in arrears, including £260 from 19/20 - no payments this financial year."
There were three other councillors in arrears, but these are relatively small amounts and short times in arrears, compared with the thousands of pounds owed by the four councillors above.
Despite a SSDC legal officer ORDERING the Freedom of Information team at SSDC to give us the names of the councillors in late July, they have still not complied.
Somerset Independents will continue to work with the ICO to get this information in the public interest.
