New IT System Leads to Catch up on Council Tax Arrears
PR 129
6 February 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Yarmouth Borough Council has installed a new council tax and benefits computer system which aims to make life easier for both staff and the public in the long-term – but in the meantime it needs some help.
The system went ‘live’ two weeks ago and Town Hall staff are now familiarising themselves with it.
“It is easier to use than the 15-year-old system it replaced and will prove better for both the public and staff alike, because it will improve the speed and quality in the processing of benefit applications and council tax charges,” said Director of Social Policy, Brendan Bergin.
“The old system was turned off in November and this means there is a lot of catching up to be done. Obviously, work could not be carried out during the period when the old system was shut down and before the new one went live.”
Part of this work involves recommencing recovery of unpaid council tax and over the next week summons will be issued.
The council needs to do this to sharply improve the collection rate, as inevitably, this has fallen in recent months, largely because of the shutdown. As part of this exercise, efforts have been made to try to remove any cases with outstanding correspondence or benefit claims linked to them. Unfortunately, at the moment, this has to be done manually and it is possible that some may slip through the net.
Councillor Sue Lawley, Cabinet Member for Social Policy said “If somebody owes council tax, can they please ensure that the full amount is paid before the court hearing to avoid any enforcement action being taken.
“If they have difficulty in paying the full amount then they should contact us. We are taking this catch-up action in order to maximise the council’s income this year and to ensure that we meet stringent government targets.
“It is in everybody’s interests, and only fair, that all eligible households contribute what they should to council tax, as all residents benefit from the services delivered by the Borough Council, the County Council and the Police”
“If any member of the public receives a summons and feel they have a genuine query with us or have outstanding claims linked to their council tax, we apologise in advance to them and ask that they contact us,” added Brendan.
“Details of how to contact us will be enclosed with the summons. I would ask that people be patient if they cannot get through as, inevitably, the volume of calls may be very high during this period.”
For further information call the Director of Social Policy, Brendan Bergin on 01493 846372.Issued by:
Liz Dann
Press Officer
Great Yarmouth Borough Council
01493 846513