Council communication comes under scrutiny - Brooks

12.00.00am GMT Thu 1st Feb 2007

Lib Dems are looking at how the council communicates with the public

The way in which West Berkshire Council communicates with residents of the district is being put under the magnifying glass by the Lib Dem-led Overview & Scrutiny Commission, following complaints received about the nature of letters sent out to members of the public.

Councillor Jeff Brooks, who chairs the Scrutiny Commission, outlined the problem:

"The tone of the letters sent out by West Berkshire Council to remind people to pay their council tax bill is unnecessarily brusque. People who are overdue with their payments even by just a few days are receiving demanding letters for payment. On occasion this has simply been the fault of their bank which has not forwarded the money on time."

The issue has been looked at once by the Commission, and is due to return in the near future to discuss a more appropriate way of dealing with the issue. Councillor Brooks commented:

"A common sense approach is needed. Demanding notices can be frightening for the elderly or those who rely on others to deal with their paperwork and bills. A polite reminder should sent first, outlining ways to pay and the deadline for payment. Only then should this be followed by a more firm request for payment. Communication with Council Tax payers needs to be courteous and easily understood - something we are also concerned about as we found Housing Benefit notices almost impossible to understand. We will keep chipping away at this until we see the changes that we believe are necessary implemented.