Birmingham City Council has missed out on over £165m worth of council tax in five years, new research reveals.
Freedom of information requests sent by Accident Claims Advice (ACA) found the cash-strapped council had council tax arrears of £136m and had written off £29m.
A spokesperson for the council said: ‘Our numbers tend to be higher than most other councils due to the fact that we have the most properties liable for council tax compared to other councils. Our percentage rate of council tax that is written off compares well to larger councils.’
Twenty London boroughs have suffered a collective shortfall of over £550m, including £50m racked up by Ealing Council and £49m in three years for Hackney, ACA found.
Manchester City Council was unable to recoup £29m in 2023/24. Overall, its five-year arrears stand at £87m.
Glasgow City Council missed out on £44m worth of council tax payments in 2023/24 and City of Edinburgh Council noted an £84m deficit from five years' worth of uncollected tax.
In Wales, Cardiff Council fell short by £9m. Pembrokeshire Council, which announced a UK-high tax increase of 12.5% in March, lost out on £3m in 2023/24 payments.
