Coventry councillor handed court order over council tax

Robert Thay was one of several councillors who were reminded to pay their council tax bills

A Coventry councillor was issued with a court order to pay his council tax, after failing to pay a bill worth hundreds of pounds on time.

Labour member for the Wyken ward Robert Thay fell behind on his council tax payments in the 2022-23.

The local authority sent him reminders before a court served him with a legal demand to pay £344.18, which he paid in full.

Mr Thay said he had paid late in some months, which prompted the reminders.

He told the BBC he did not have a monthly direct debit set up, because he preferred to pay larger amounts at times of his choosing.

The councillor accepted paying late was his "fault entirely", but added there were "no missed payments, in fact I was slightly ahead on payments for the year".

He said he set up a direct debit in November 2023 and there had since been no issues.

Details of the late payment were released by the city council in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

In April, 75% of upper-tier authorities are expected to introduce the maximum increase of 4.99%, according to the County Councils Network

It showed that 70 city councillors had to be reminded to pay council tax since 2018.

In total, late payments by councillors amounted to £17,411 during the past six financial years.

Some councillors were in debt for months, with one failing to pay their bill for 195 days.

Another councillor racked up a bill of £2,333 during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21.

But all of the bills were eventually paid in full, after reminders were sent by the local authority.

A council spokesperson said: "We expect all of our elected members to pay their council tax just as we expect our residents to pay. As an organisation we have a long-term collection rate of 97.9% for council tax.

"When someone doesn't pay their council tax then we have a robust policy in place to ensure that we can collect that money.

"If anyone believes they may have difficulty paying back their bills then we encourage them to contact us early to see what support is available."

Mr Thay voted to approve the city council's budget in a meeting this week (generic image)

Councils send reminders to residents if council tax payments are missed.

But if the bill continues to go unpaid, councils can ask a court to issue a legal demand for payment, known as a liability order.

Since 2018, these orders were issued to four councillors, including Mr Thay, who is a member of a scrutiny committee with responsibility for council resources.

Budget shortfall

Councillors are prevented from voting on the authority's budget if they have an outstanding council tax debt of more than two months.

None of the councillors sent payment reminders were prevented from voting on the city council's budget in the past six years.

Coventry City Council has raised council tax by the maximum of 4.99% in this year's budget, as it seeks to plug a £20m hole in its finances.

Mr Thay voted to approve the council's budget in a meeting on Tuesday.

Prof Colin Copus, a professor of local politics at De Montfort University, said councillors "do have financial responsibilities and financial powers in relation to council tax".

He stated: "So I could see why many people will want to know which councillors are not paying their council tax on time.

"But in their defence, it is possible to overlook something, if you're not paying by direct debit."