Oh The Irony!!

From the Daily Record today

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newsscotland/provost-hit-with-council-tax-debt-order-from-her-own-council/ar-BBIkgtF?srcref=rss&utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=native

Provost hit with council tax debt order - from her own council

A provost was among more than 30 councillors chased by local authorities to pay up council tax debts.

Provost Lorraine Cameron had to be issued with a summary warrant before she eventually settled a bill for £1235.57.

The SNP politician was one of 10 councillors who only paid their 2016-17 council tax after being issued with court action over non-payment.

Cameron has been a councillor for Paisley Southwest since 1999 and was appointed to the role of provost last year.

The mum of four failed to respond to repeated Sunday Mail requests for an explanation over her council tax bill.

Fellow Renfrewshire councillor Jim Harte was pursued over arrears of £449.

The Provost for Erskine and Inchinnan said: “I’m not aware of a summary warrant.

“It’s normally my wife that deals with paying the bills but I certainly wasn’t aware of that aspect of it.

“My council tax was always paid up at the end of the year.

“I may have fallen into arrears during that period because either I was on the sick at the time or some other reason to do with hardship.

“But there is absolutely no time did I go beyond the end of the year without paying off my council tax.”

Renfrewshire Council said: “No sitting councillors are in council tax arrears. We take a robust approach to collecting council tax.”

One East Lothian councillor was issued with a summary warrant demand – but the offender’s name was withheld.

East Lothian Council said: “Repayment arrangements were put in place.”

Scotland’s biggest local authority had to send out eight reminders for overdue payments – and three councillors who had failed to pay finally stumped up what they owed after being hit with a court threat.

Highland Council got summary warrants for two unnamed councillors over debts of £925 and £1461. One successfully appealed.

Two Scottish councils – Fife and Perth and Kinross – were among only six local authorities who failed to provide their 2016-17 figures for magazine Private Eye’s study.

They approached the 377 councils across Scotland, England and Wales for details on arrears.

Fife Council said: “In order to provide a response, we would have to engage our external suppliers Northgate to write and run an IT query.

“Therefore this is considered information not held in terms of the Freedom of Information Act.”

Perth and Kinross Council would only say that fewer than five councillors had been sent council tax reminders.

Councillors can be barred from budget meetings if they have council tax arrears.

Misfeasance in public office.