Staffordshire Moorlands DC is now ranked the third highest achiever in Council Tax collection out of 201 District Councils, thanks to its association with Dukes Bailiffs Limited.

Dukes was appointed following a market testing exercise undertaken by the District Council covering a one year trial period, with Dukes’ overall performance  demonstrably stronger than that of its competitors during that period.

The Staffordshire based bailiff company, whose Managing Director Colin Naylor is elected chairman of the Association of Civil Enforcement Agencies, has been working for the District Council for five years, recovering Council Tax, Business Rates and Sundry debts for the Council. 

With levels of deprivation varying in the District, and some high pockets in the market towns and rural areas, the collection of Council Tax can sometimes be difficult.  But working in partnership with the council’s internal team, Dukes Bailiffs have helped to achieve extremely high and consistent collection rates, resulting in achieving a 99.17% rate in Council Tax collection and ranking Staffordshire Moorlands DC the third highest amongst all 201 district councils.  Despite the dominance of small businesses in the District (86%), Business Rates collection rate is now in the top 10%, significant improvement over past performance.

According to Joanne Wheeldon, Local Taxation Manager at Staffordshire Moorlands DC, Dukes have also helped the District Council in the achievement of the “Customer Service Excellence” standard.  “The award has been achieved partly in recognition of the way in which we have managed to dramatically reduce the number of complaints against the Service.  The number of complaints we receive regarding bailiff activity is consistently very low”, she commented.  

Joanne believes the combined emphasis on performance and customer service has resulted in significant increase in Direct Debit take-up, both combined to reduce costs and drive out efficiencies as part of the Council’s Efficiency Strategy.