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. It explains how discretionary council tax reductions can be sought for clients and how adverse decisions by local authorities may be appealed and reversed. It details how to respond effectively to the issue of court proceedings, methods of assisting clients who are already subject to enforcement action and ways of obtaining redress in cases of official mistakes and maladministration.
Pre-requisites
None
Learning objectives
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- apply for discretionary reductions in council tax under section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992,
- advise clients on how to respond effectively to liability order proceedings,
- commence appeals to the Valuation Tribunal,
- convince local authorities to take 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