BURY Council has soared above its local rivals by winning first prize in the Reach for the Top competition, organised by the banking industry for all UK local authorities.

The council won the award following a successful campaign which led to 5,631 householders converting their council tax payments to Direct Debit (DD), bringing the total number of DD payers to 32,812.

The annual Reach for the Top competition, now in its second year, encourages local authorities to promote the payment of council tax by Direct Debit and take advantage of significant time savings, lower administration costs and cash flow consistency.

Bury scooped the prize after successfully reaching the summit of Everest, one of the six categories in the competition, all of which are named after mountains.

To reach the summit, Bury had to encourage householders to switch their council tax payments to Direct Debit between July 1 last year and June 30.

Deputy Bury Council leader and finance spokesman, Councillor John Byrne, said he was absolutely delighted the local authority had won the Reach for the Top award.

He said: "It is a true recognition of all the hard work and effort that has been invested in our DD campaign over the past 12 months, particularly by our revenues department.

"The council is now firmly committed to Direct Debit because it is the most cost-effective way to collect council tax payments and will play a key role in our council tax collection strategy for the foreseeable future."

The council will be presented with its prize in Bournemouth on October 13 at the annual national conference for local authorities.

Bury will be presented with £500, which it can either donate to a charity of its choice or put towards staff training.

In addition, the council will also be entered into a free prize draw, offering the opportunity to win a fantastic adventure weekend for a group of children with disabilities from the borough.

Ken Brown, of Direct Debit, said: "The challenge is going from strength to strength as more councils acknowledge the benefits.

"We would like to congratulate all entrants, especially Bury.

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