Debt collection Campaigners call for a meeting with council leaders

CAMPAIGN group Acorn has demanded a meeting with Bristol City Council bosses after the authority issued a statement on its debt collection practices involving the use of bailiffs.

- Adam POSTANS Local Democracy Reporter

It follows a report by the Post last month that the group had claimed a major victory in stopping the authority's use of enforcement agents for the poorest households.

At the time council leader Tony Dyer said that officers were "identifying vulnerable debtors on our system so we can stop sending bailiffs to those debtors who are unable to pay."

He said: "This would almost certainly include those on income-related benefits, including working people on low incomes.

"It also includes people who are identified as temporarily vulnerable when their income has significantly dropped, such as where they have lost work or material working hours, welfare benefits and tax credits."