Council trying claw back rent arrears from the deprived city of stoke on Trent

the local city council are trying to claw back rent arrears despite they being no jobs in the city but lead councillor mr clown perves does not understand this oh no he thinks money grows on trees its OK for him hes not short of any money oh no hes quite comfortably  financially secure its like the labour party in general and the conservatives they don't live where we live they have nice big posh houses out of the city away from areas that are deprive as soon as 5pm comes they are gone except we have councillors that think they no what happens on these estates but they haven't got a clue and to top it all off they are now leaving the gates open  to the local cemetery's to save money 1 this will create anti social behaviour 2 why don't they set a couple of people on that have being on jsa for a while to unlock and closed the gates at night give them there sia  licences ( security )  on a basic wage problem solved anyway enough said heres the article

Fury as arrears rise £115k in one month

Friday, September 09, 2011

The Sentinel

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UNPAID rent owed by tenants to Stoke-on-Trent City Council has soared by more than £115,000 in the last month.

The authority has formed an action group to tackle rising council tax and rent arrears as it implements budget cuts of £36 million.

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   ACTION: Mohammed Pervez says the council is trying to sort out the arrears.

But figures disclosed at a meeting of the full council yesterday show the amount owed in rent by current council tenants climbed to £1.7 million at the end of August.

Just four weeks earlier the total owed was £1.58 million.

Councillor Mohammed Pervez, council leader, said: "We're doing everything we can and are committed to addressing the issue."

The authority is also owed £1.75 million in rent by former tenants.

Details also revealed at yesterday's meeting show the council is owed £8.85 million in unpaid business rates – a total that has accumulated since 1995/96.

It is in addition to the total £36 million the council is owed in unpaid council tax, rent and sundry debts.

Mr Pervez said the council is already improving its efficiency in collecting taxes and business rates.

He said: "The issue of council tax arrears, business rate arrears and other debts is being looked at.

"A task and finish group is looking at how we can improve the situation and I have also asked council officers to look at this to make sure there is sufficient capacity to resolve it.

"We are 100 per cent behind trying to collect the council tax, rent and the other arrears owed to the council and we'll make sure we progress it as actively as possible."

The council is also to begin publishing the amount it is owed in rates, taxes and rent in every financial quarter.

The move follows criticism from opposition councillors that the authority is losing track of how much it is owed.

The move will allow officers' progress in clawing back the cash to be monitored.

Mr Pervez said: "The figures will be published so people can see our performance."

Councillor Dave Conway, leader of the opposition City Independents group, said: "It's a disgrace, every bit of it.

"People of the city paying their bills will want to know what is going on and why this money is not being collected.

"If things continue at the current rate, with an increase of £115,000 in one single month, we are going to end up in a far worse position at the end of last year than we were last year."

Last year, Stoke-on-Trent City Council had the worst record in the West Midlands for council tax collection.