Debate contribution: Unpaid Rates: Collection
Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on .
- MLA
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 27 February 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Unpaid Rates: Collection
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4237998
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Over £1·5 billion of rates have been collected in this financial year. That is the largest amount collected by Land and Property Services (LPS) in a rating year, and over £140 million more than last year. Rating debt has increased since 2020. The Member will not be surprised that a number of factors were responsible, including the COVID pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis and the cost-of-doing-business crisis. LPS proactively addresses rating debt through the rates billing, collection and recovery cycle. As at 4 February 2024, almost 11,000 ratepayers have an agreed payment plan and pay their rates over a longer period. Those people are reflected in the £174 million worth of debt. Legal debt recovery actions are taken by LPS for persistent non-payment and when ratepayers fail to engage with LPS on their rating debt. Approximately 40% of all rating debt prior to 31 March 2023 has been subject to legal proceedings. The Member will know that there were difficulties with legal proceedings during the pandemic.
LPS has been robustly implementing its debt recovery strategy, which aims to reduce rating debt year-on-year.
181 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.65).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.65 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 1.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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