Course outline
This course provides essential knowledge and practical tips for money advisers dealing with council tax debts, with particular emphasis on responding to recovery and enforcement action.
Pre-requisites
None
Learning objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- explain discretionary reductions in council tax under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992,
- explain how to respond effectively to liability order proceedings,
- describe how to commence appeals to the Valuation Tribunal,
- present arguments to local authorities for taking back debts referred to bailiffs,
- identify ways of challenging unfair and unlawful council tax decisions and enforcement practices.
Level: Caseworker / Specialist
CPD: 4.5 hours
Duration: One day
Is this course right for me?
“It was the best money advice course I have ever attended. I was fully engaged throughout the day and learnt a lot from the course. When I enrolled on the course I expected it to be quite dry but Alan is a great tutor. The course started with a brief history (powerpoint presentation) of the poll tax riots and council tax, which was really interesting, as I was born in 1986 so although I had heard of the poll tax, I didn’t really know much about it.
Learning that clients could apply for a Discretionary Reduction pursuant to s13A(1)(c) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to effectively remove their liability to pay council tax, was a game changer. I had no idea this was available… I was aware of the Local Government Ombudsman but never knew of the existence of the Valuation Tribunal. I also learnt lots of other useful information on the course, regarding Liability Orders and tactics to use with Bailiffs/Local Council… The training has given me a lot of confidence as an advisor. The first thing I did when I returned to the office was email the whole debt team informing them of the main things I learned on the course.”
Michael Egan, Citizens Advice St. Helens