Council tax arrears are at their highest in Scotland, with average debts almost double the UK average – a charity has warned.
Some 40% of Scottish residents who came to Step Change Debt Charity in the first six months of 2014 were in arrears on the council tax bill, a 20% rise since 2010.
Those who had fallen behind on average owed £1,534, almost twice as high as the UK average of £798. This sum has risen for Scotland over the past two years from an average of £1,312.
Scotland was also found to have the second highest proportion of clients with council tax debt, standing at 39% by the end of June 2014. This marked a rise from just 19% in 2010 and 29% in 2012.
People who approached Step Change in the Lothian Region saw the greatest increase in their average value of council tax arrears, and £812 rise from £1,443 in 2013 to £2,255 by the end of June 2014. This region also saw the highest percentage of clients in arrears, at almost 47%.
Residents in Scotland were also found to have the largest average payday loan debt (£1,438), £129 more than the UK average. Scottish households also had the largest amount of gas bill arrears and - in the first six months of this year - the highest electricity arrears of all UK nations.
Sharon Bell, head of StepChange Debt Charity Scotland, said: ‘The rise in people struggling to pay their priority bills is a stark reminder of just how difficult day-to-day living has become for many Scottish households. Keeping a roof over your head and heating your home are basic needs, yet for too many Scottish families, these are constant worries in the run up to Christmas. Even where families are not in debt, many live on a financial knife-edge with small setbacks enough to tip them over the edge into problem debt.’
