Council vehicles clamped after £138k in unpaid court costs

Speaking at a full council meeting on 27 November, Cllr Emma Bush said the vehicles were clamped outside Swindon's offices due to the non-payment of costs to the court service for the loss of a housing disrepair claim.

This resulted in a County Court Judgment being issued in July 2025.

"Clearly, this has not been the council's finest hour. We regret it has happened, and we will strive to ensure it doesn't happen again," Bush told members.

She said the costs were paid immediately, and the vehicles were unclamped.

According to Cllr Bush, a council officer responsible for paying the costs had partly processed them before falling sick. "It was not redirected to another officer and therefore not paid," she said.

"Absolutely the council's fault, the council's mistake. To be clear, we have not had any similar enforcement activity under this administration."

Her comments followed a motion advanced by Cllr Dale Heenan regarding County Court Judgments issued against the authority.

Introducing his motion, Cllr Heenan said: "I did some digging, and you can imagine my surprise when I found nine County Court Judgments had been secured against this council over six months."

"One in March, one in April, two in May, one in June, two in July and two in August. More than £138,000 secured. This is not normal. It does not normally happen in this authority."

His motion requested that the Audit Committee receive a report on the circumstances surrounding the CCJs as soon as practicable, including any failures leading to the claims, particularly within Finance, Legal and the relevant departments; why the CCJs were not immediately paid; and recommended actions to avoid further judgments.

Councillors ultimately voted the motion down.

Adam Carey