SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Questions posed in consultation paper

Joint billing and collection of council tax with rent

Q1 Views are sought on whether local authorities should be given a permissive power to operate a joint billing and collection system for council tax and rent.

Q2 Views are sought on whether the Scottish Parliament should be invited to promote legislation to prescribe for the joint billing and collection of council tax with rent; the attribution of the sums collected and for different enforcement procedures which should apply for the respective portion of the debt.

Decrease the debt level to the former level of £750 for sequestration.

Q3 Views are sought on how effective a reduction in the debt level for sequestration would be on council tax collection, and the effects of such a reduction on the sequestration process in general.

Q4 Views are sought on whether a reduction to £750 should be made in the debt level for sequestration by creditors.

Give councils powers to refuse sale of council house to community charge/council tax debtor.

Q5 Views are sought on whether the Scottish Parliament should be invited to promote legislation which would enable local authorities to aggregate any debts due to them with either the purchase price of a house bought under the "Right to Buy" scheme, or with the value of the loan awarded under the "Right to Purchase (Loans) (Scotland) Regulations".

Q6 Views are sought on whether the Scottish Parliament should be invited to promote legislation which give councils powers to prohibit the sale of a house under "Right to Buy" and/or withhold any loan to be awarded under the "lender of last resort" scheme until the debtor has repaid all debts owed to the council or has made appropriate arrangements for settlement.

Give councils access to Inland Revenue’s records.

Q7 Views are sought as to whether it would be desirable for councils to be given access to Inland Revenue records of employment in prescribed cases, subject to the agreement of Ministers.

Introduce a criminal penalty for council tax debtors who fail to provide councils with employment details when requested

Q8 Views are sought on whether the introduction of a criminal penalty would encourage debtors to supply employment details to councils when requested and on whether the Scottish Parliament should be invited to consider introducing legislation which would make the failure to supply employment information a criminal offence in Scotland.

Give councils powers to bypass the summary warrant process when seeking voluntary direct deduction by the Department of Social Security from a debtor’s Income support.