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Written Question
Council Tax
Tuesday 23rd June 2020

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty's Government which (1) organisations, (2) charities, (3) debt advice services, and (4) local authorities were consulted as part of their review on unpaid Council Tax arrears, announced on 10 April 2019.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

The Department has been working closely with a range of billing authorities, debt advice charities and civil enforcement agencies to better understand the approaches taken in local government in collecting council tax. On the basis of this work, the Department is now preparing guidance setting out the best practice that already exists in the collection and enforcement of council tax. This will be published as soon as possible.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 03 Jun 2020
Covid-19: Local Democracy

"My Lords, while there has, on occasion, been excessive delegation to officers and a paucity of democratic scrutiny, remote working has generally worked extraordinarily well. I think there are lessons to be learned beyond the pandemic. Will my noble friend the Minister undertake to review the use of videoconferencing for …..."
Lord Pickles - View Speech

View all Lord Pickles (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Local Democracy
Written Question
Rents: Coronavirus
Wednesday 3rd June 2020

Asked by: Lord Pickles (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a pre-action protocol for councils which would encourage the negotiation of affordable rent payment plans with tenants before seeking bailiff enforcement action following the end of the current moratorium on new evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answered by Lord Greenhalgh

The existing Pre-Action Protocol for social landlords (attached) https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/pre-action-protocol-for-possession-claims-by-social-landlords encourages landlords and tenants to try to agree affordable sums for the tenant to pay towards rent arrears based on the tenant’s income and expenditure. Landlords are encouraged to do this as soon as possible and to postpone commencing court proceedings for as long as the tenant keeps to such agreement, or to adjourn proceedings if an agreement is reached after proceedings are begun. The failure of a landlord to comply with the protocol may be taken into account by the court in deciding what orders to make.

There are currently no plans to revise this protocol.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 18 May 2020
Covid-19: Housing

"Does my noble friend agree that one problem in getting a sustained supply of planning is inappropriate planning conditions? That is particularly true in two-tier areas. Is he aware that Section 106 agreements have been sought by county councils on education and highways, and these are properly already included in …..."
Lord Pickles - View Speech

View all Lord Pickles (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Housing
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 14 May 2020
Housing and Construction Sector

"My Lords, the housing market will need a steady and sustained recovery. A vital ingredient of that is the supply of sites. There are worrying reports that some planning authorities are not planning to open until July. With the necessary social distancing and technology, a target of getting planning authorities …..."
Lord Pickles - View Speech

View all Lord Pickles (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Housing and Construction Sector
Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 20 Jan 2020
UK Holocaust Memorial

"My Lords, on the uniqueness of the Holocaust, does my noble friend share the assessment of the late Professor David Cesarani, who said that the Holocaust was unprecedented because never before in history had a leader decided that within a conceivable timeframe an ethnic religious group could be physically destroyed …..."
Lord Pickles - View Speech

View all Lord Pickles (Con - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: UK Holocaust Memorial