The scheme is designed to help Gloucester City tenants with multiple debts owing to the council, to take control of those debts and repay them in a structured way. The scheme has been drawn up in partnership with advice agencies in the city. People on the scheme will have one person to contact and make just one regular payment rather than dealing with many different departments.

Debts which can be repaid through the scheme

• Rent arrears and former tenant rent arrears
• Council Tax arrears
• Sundry debt arrears
• Housing Benefit overpayment arrears not recoverable from ongoing benefit
• Other non-secured debt arrears

Qualifying conditions

To qualify for the scheme you must:

• Be a current or former Gloucester City Council tenant
• Owe the council £500 or more rent arrears
• Owe more than one debt to the council
• Not have been included in the scheme before

Applications will not be accepted for council tenants who are having action taken against them for breaches of tenancy conditions other than rent arrears.

How to apply

Applications for the scheme will normally be made through one of the participating advice agencies detailed below. If you do not wish to apply through an advice agency, you can get an application form from the Corporate Debt Team by phoning 01452 396487. In this case you will need to supply proof that you have received debt counselling in the last 6 weeks.

How the scheme works

On receipt of your application, the Corporate Debt Team will notify the council services to whom you owe money. Any recovery action taking place will be suspended pending the outcome of your application. The Corporate Debt Panel will then decide if you qualify for the scheme. If the Panel accept your application they will agree:

• which debts are included
• the amount of your repayments
• how much of your repayments go towards each debt that you owe

You will then make one single regular payment of the agreed amount to the Corporate Debt Team, who will apportion your payment and allocate the money to the relevant services.

The Panel can also review the payments you are making if there is a change in your financial circumstances.

Your responsibilities under the scheme

If you are accepted onto the scheme you must:

• Pay all Corporate Debt payments on time as instructed.
• Accept the decision of the Panel as to how your Corporate Debt payments will be allocated.
• Pay all current and future liabilities on time in addition to the Corporate Debt payments that are due.
• Inform the Corporate Debt Team and your advice worker of any changes to your circumstances.
• Agree to undertake periodic reviews of your financial circumstances.

It is vitally important that you maintain your payments under the scheme, as any failure to pay will result in your removal from the scheme. This also applies to non payment of debts to the council that are not included in the scheme.

Participating Agencies

The voluntary agencies taking part in the scheme are:

Agency	Telephone
Chinese Women's Guild	(01452) 332088
Citizens Advice Bureau|	(01452) 528017
Coney Hill Neighbourhood Project	(01452) 380116
Gloucester Law Centre	(01452) 423492
Matson Neighbourhood Project	(01452) 505544
Mothers' Union Money Advice Service	(01452) 383288
Podsmead Neighbourhood Project	(01452) 541576
Shelter	(01452) 310748
White City Neighbourhood Project	(01452) 309440

Last Updated: 09/01/09