Some residents consider that Council Tax is a contract and requires a legal contract and signatures indicating an agreement. As mentioned above, Council Tax is a creature of statute, and a contract is not required. Therefore, any reference to the Companies Act, Contracts Act, Bills of Exchange Act or other acts regarding companies or contracts is irrelevant. 

A variation of this question is ‘Please provide evidence that I’ve agreed with you that you can lawfully collect an alleged debt from me.’ Again, this is inconsequential, as there hasn’t been an exchange of contracts or agreement. Neither is required for the levy and recovery of Council Tax. 

The hierarchy of who is considered to be the liable party is contained in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 c14 Part 1, Chapter 1, Sections 6 -9. Individual agreement of this is not necessary. 

Whether a name is legal or fictional is irrelevant for the purposes of Council Tax. Council Tax is charged and is payable by whoever the liable party is, which is determined by reference to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992. 

The issue of a Council Tax Demand Notice (the bill) creates the debt. A signature or agreement from a resident is not necessary for Council Tax, it is a tax, not a contract. The Magistrates Courts (Amendment) Rules 2019 removed the requirement for a signature on a Court summons. Previous case law has clarified that the use of a rubber stamp or an electronic signature are both valid for the purpose of the court signing a summons. 

Being a Freeman of the Land does not mean someone can choose which laws they adhere to and which they ignore. Freeman on the land arguments have been considered and ruled against by the courts. We will take recovery action against all liable parties who have not paid their Council Tax.  In extreme cases this could even lead to committal proceedings, or even a prison sentence, as in the Manchester Magistrates’ court vs McKenzie (2015) case, where an individual who attempted to use similar ‘freeman on the land’ defences in court ended up in prison for 40 days.  

Milton Keynes City Council is a local authority within the Public Sector and as such, it is not a company or a corporation. 

Anyone who ignores Council Tax communications or withholds their payment, will have recovery action taken against them. As explained, there is no requirement for your consent, agreement or a contract to be liable for Council Tax. 

The summons is issued by the Magistrates Court, when the application (complaint) is approved and endorsed by the court’s Legal Advisor and the council informed of the outcome. The summons may then be printed by the complainant, and this is the normal custom in relation to all summonses. It is the responsibility of the person applying for a summons to serve it on the respondent and Rule 99 of the Magistrates Court Rules 1981 sets out how that may be done, which includes by post. There is no agreement between the courts and Local Authorities to do this, as it is the legal duty of the Local Authority. Therefore, the summons is issued by the court, but printed on their behalf, and posted by the Local Authority. 

If you have a dispute regarding the granting of a Liability Order against you then you need to take this up with the magistrate’s court. You will need to explain why you feel that Milton Keynes City Council has not followed the correct process and apply for your liability order to be set aside. 

The Magistrates Court, who award Liability Orders publish a list of the names and addresses of those charge payers against whom an order was granted, together with the amount they owe. The granting of a Liability Order is a legal process and not an actual document, as such, it cannot be evidenced in the form of a document. This is supported within Schedule 4 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 which makes reference to Liability Orders being made. The council generates Liability Order Notices to inform the debtor, but this is not a legal requirement. 

The High Court’s 20 September 2023 decision in Leighton v Bristow & Sutor did not change the law on this point.  Rather, the Judge found as a matter of fact that the evidence of the list of debtors paired with the signature of the Magistrates, provided by the Council/ Enforcement Agent was sufficient to satisfy them that a liability order have been made by the Court. 

Under Regulation 8 of the Data Protection Act 2018, we do not require your consent to process data that is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of the controller’s official function conferred by an enactment or rule of law. 

Legal obligation: the processing is necessary for the Council Tax department to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations) 

and 

Public task: the processing is necessary for the Council Tax department to perform a task in the public interest or for our official functions, and the task or function has a clear basis in law. That task is to collect money on behalf of the Local Authority.