Help available for recession victims and council tax strugglers

PEOPLE in need of benefits or who are who are having problems meeting council tax payments are being urged to contact West Somerset Council for help.
The council’s finance portfolio holder, Councillor Doug Ross, said: “The economic crisis is having an effect on the local economy and some jobs have already been lost.
“Some businesses are also cutting employees’ hours to try to reduce operating costs.
“We appreciate that people may be struggling to meet payments, and that includes council tax bills.
“If this is the case, benefits may be available and we actively encourage local people to get in contact to see if we can help.
“We would rather work with people who are struggling to pay, so we can advise people on what benefits may be available.
“We can also help people who are living alone to claim the single person’s council tax discount, which reduces their bills by 25 per cent.”
Councils are obliged to take all necessary steps to recover unpaid council tax to support essential services, and this includes applying to the magistrates’ court for liability orders to enforce recovery.
“We would rather avoid court proceedings, and would always try first to work with people who are struggling to pay, as well as during any proceedings.
“We know more people than usual are experiencing changes in circumstances and we want to help if we can.
“We can also supply details of organisations that specialise in providing free, confidential advice for people in debt or facing financial difficulties.”
These organisations include:

• Adviceguide, an on-line CAB service providing practical, up-to-date information on a wide range of topics, including benefits housing, debt and tax issues - www.adviceguide.org.uk
  
• West Somerset Advice Bureau, Market House Lane, Minehead - 01643 704624
  Consumer Credit Counselling Service, which gives a wide range of free debt advice – freephone 0800 138 1111 or visit www.cccs.co.uk
  
• National Debtline, for free, confidential and independent advice on debt issues – 0808 808 4000 or visit www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
  
• Payplan, the UK's largest provider of free debt solutions, including free debt management plans and IVAs - freephone: 0800 917 7823 or visit www.payplan.com
  
• UK Insolvency Helpline, for free, confidential, independent debt information – 0808 074 6918 or visit www.insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

The district council can be contacted by calling 01643 703704 for people to find out if they are eligible for benefits or to seek guidance if they are having problems paying council tax bills.

Magistrates order benefits cheat to carry out unpaid work

A CONTINUING clampdown on benefits cheats by West Somerset Council saw a third man prosecuted in the space of a month.
Jameel Khan, aged 31, of Townsend Road, Minehead, claimed nearly £3,000 in housing and council tax benefits to which he was not entitled.
His fraud was conducted over a period of eight months this year, from March to October, after he failed to tell the council he had been working.
Khan carried on claiming housing and council tax benefits after finding work in March, and although the job ended in May, he found further employment in July and again failed to declare it to the council.
As a result, Khan received £2,168.38 in housing benefit and £698.44 in council tax benefit between March and October to which he was not entitled.
Khan pleaded guilty to the offences when he appeared before West Somerset magistrates.
The magistrates gave him credit for his guilty plea and the fact that Khan had already started to repay the overpayment.
They decided a community order was appropriate and sentenced Khan to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work.
After the case, West Somerset Council finance portfolio holder Councillor Doug Ross said: “It is essential that people claiming benefits report changes in their circumstances to our benefits team immediately.
“We are keen to help those facing genuine hardship, and encourage people in difficulty to seek our help and not to risk getting themselves into trouble.”

Second benefits cheat given 'slapped wrist' by magistrates

A SECOND West Somerset benefits cheat has been let off by magistrates after the district council took a prosecution to court.
Ian Ware, aged 41, of The Glebe, Timberscombe, claimed nearly £5,000 in housing benefit and council tax benefit to which he was not entitled.
His fraud was committed over a 14-month period from February of last year to April of this year, during which time Ware dishonestly failed to notify the council of changes to his circumstances.
Despite having found work, Ware did not promptly tell the council and continued to receive a total of £3,704.27 in housing benefit and £1,097.31 in council tax benefit to which he was not entitled.
Ware, who had since started to pay back the over-paid benefits at a rate of less than £10 a week, pleaded guilty to the offence.
The magistrates gave him credit for an early guilty plea and the fact he was already making some repayments to the council.
They conditionally discharged Ware for 12 months, which meant he would not be further punished if he kept out of trouble during that time.
The court did not make any order for compensation as arrangements were already in place.
Following the hearing, West Somerset Council finance portfolio holder, Councillor Doug Ross, appealed for the public to report anybody they suspected of dishonestly claiming benefits.
Councillor Ross said the council had a fraud hotline on 01984 635236 which people could call anonymously to tip off the authority’s benefits team.
He said: “It is made clear to benefits claimants that the responsibility to report changes in circumstances lies with them.
“Our benefits team is on hand to help anybody who may find themselves in difficult circumstances and we would advise people to contact the team if they need to.
“Failure to do so will lead to our fraud team taking action against people who are dishonestly claiming benefits to which they are not entitled.”

'Slapped wrist' for £1,600 Watchet benefits cheat

A BENEFITS cheat who dishonestly claimed more than £1,600 has been given a ‘slap on the wrist’ by West Somerset magistrates after the district council prosecuted him.
Eric Gitsham, aged 49, of Maglands Road, Watchet, pleaded guilty to failing to notify the council of a change in circumstances while he was receiving housing and council tax benefits.
By not declaring that his wife had been working during the 15 months from April of last year to July of this year, Gitsham was paid £1,377.02 in housing benefit and £251.02 in council tax benefit to which he was not entitled.
The magistrates gave Gitsham credit for making an early guilty plea and they took into account his current financial circumstances - both he and his wife were now unemployed.
Gitsham was conditionally discharged for 12 months, which meant he would not be further punished for the offence if he stayed out of trouble during that time.
A compensation order was also made for Gitsham to repay to the council the overpayment of benefit at £10 a week.
District council finance portfolio holder Councillor Doug Ross said after the court hearing: “People who break the law by claiming benefits they are not entitled to should be aware that our fraud team will take action against them.
“If convicted in court, they will also find themselves with a criminal record.
“It is vital that people claiming benefits report changes in their circumstances to our benefits team immediately, as we are here to help those facing hardship.
“If people suspect somebody of claiming benefits fraudulently, they can report them anonymously on our confidential benefit fraud hotline on 01984 635236.
“All the caller needs to do is leave the name of the person suspected and details of the alleged fraud.
“We can simply check out the details and if fraud is proven, we can act to stop hard-working taxpayers footing the bill for this criminal activity.”

Council slated by auditors for taking nine weeks to process housing benefit claims

THE housing benefits service in West Somerset has been rated as one of the worst of any council in the whole country.
The Audit Commission gave the district council service a zero rating, leaving the council among the 25 per cent poorest performing authorities in England.
The commission’s 2007-2008 report said 3,500 residents had faced ‘unacceptable delays’ as benefit claims took up to 65 days to process, and the service was not demonstrating ‘value for money’.
The inspection team said it accepted the council had made improvements during the past 12 months, including new IT investment, better working practices, and improvements in the continuity of service delivery.
The commission’s senior manager, Sophie Trim, said: “The benefits service at West Somerset Council is now showing signs of improvement following changes in both working practices and technology.
“There is a strong commitment from councillors and staff to deliver improvements, and these improvements have had an impact on customers.
“People now receive their benefit quicker and have better access through telephone, website, and frontline services.”
However, the commission said the council still needed to do further work to improve the accessibility to benefits for customers and to ensure service standards and performance targets were relevant to customers’ needs.
It also recommended further improvements to performance monitoring and management, and for the service to be more proactive in identifying and deterring levels of benefit fraud.
District council leader Council Keith Ross tried to dismiss the Audit Commission’s dreadful report on the basis that it was old.
Councillor Ross said: “There had been a lot of redundancies in the benefits department which slowed down the processing time, but this last year we have improved to processing claims within 11 days.”