Almost four in ten of London’s poorest families have received court summons for failing to pay council tax bills, a report finds.
Anti-poverty charities are warning that 39% of residents in the capital that were asked to pay more under their local council tax reduction schemes (CTS) have been unable to meet payments– totalling 118,027 people.
Council tax benefit was abolished in April last year, with funding from central government for replacement schemes falling by 10%.
Research from the Child Poverty Action Group and Z2K found at least 313,519 Londoners were on average expected to pay £151 more council tax each year under the CTS in 2013/14 than they would have been under council tax benefit.
According to A new poll tax? boroughs are now also facing lower collection rates and rising collection costs following the central reforms.
Campaigners have urged the Government return to a nationally fully funded system of council tax benefit, warning that forcing low income families to pay local levies will ‘inevitably impoverish many’.
Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group, said: ‘This research shows the direct impact that changes to council tax funding are having on the poorest families. Families tell us that it is simply not possible for them to make these make payments from household budgets already stretched to breaking point.’
Z2K chief executive, Joanna Kennedy said: ‘Although the responsibility for this policy clearly lies with the coalition Government this report demonstrates that many London local authorities have adopted policies that are pushing thousands of low income Londoners further into poverty.
‘Any policy that results in nearly 40 per cent of those affected being sent a court summons clearly isn’t working.’
‘While it is vital that the Government restores the funding cut in the meantime local authorities have an opportunity to do more for their residents.’
