Council tax loophole costs councils £150m a year
25/05/2022 Local authorities are missing out on millions of pounds worth of council tax income because of a loophole in the business rates system, company warns. |
Regulator finds ‘competition concerns’ with Veolia and Suez merger
20/05/2022 A merger of the waste management companies Veolia and Suez could lead to a loss of competition and an increase in costs for local authorities, regulator warns. |
Poorest households struggle to get £150 energy rebate
17/05/2022 The poorest households are struggling to get the £150 energy rebate that local authorities have been tasked with paying, an energy charity has warned. |
Councils allocated £28m to cover costs of council tax rebate
05/05/2022 Local authorities have been allocated just over £28m to help cover the costs of administrating the council tax rebate scheme. |
Council tax top priority in local elections
12/04/2022 The level of council tax is the top local election priority for Londoners, a recent survey has revealed. |
Sponsors of Ukrainian refugees to get council tax breaks
11/04/2022 Households who become sponsors through the Homes for Ukraine scheme will not lose their council tax discounts, minister for refugees Lord Harrington confirmed. |
Cost of living crisis risks leaving levelling up ‘dead on arrival’
07/04/2022 The Government’s levelling up agenda could be undermined by a deepening North-South divide exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, a think tank has warned. |
Government needs to 'get a grip' on council tax rebate, says Betts
29/03/2022 The Government needs to ‘get a grip’ on the council tax rebate scheme, the chair of the levelling up select committee has said. |
Council tax increases to add to ‘harsh squeeze’ on living standards
11/03/2022 Households that are already experiencing a squeeze on their finances are set to be hit by increases in council tax after April, financial experts warn. |
Welsh council tax premiums on second homes increased to 300%
02/03/2022 The maximum level at which local authorities can set council tax premiums on second homes and long-term empty properties in Wales will be increased to 300%. |
MP calls for clarity on support for councils to manage tax rebate
02/03/2022 The Government has been urged to explain what support local authorities will receive to help manage the burden of administrating the £150 council tax rebate scheme. |
Councils urge households to arrange direct debits for paying council tax
28/02/2022 Councils are urging residents to set up a direct debit to pay their council tax bill in order to get the £150 energy rebate payment as quickly as possible. |
Wandsworth set to be only council to lower council tax
24/02/2022 Wandsworth council is set to be the only local authority in the country to be reducing council tax bills. |
One in 10 people falsely claim council tax discounts
24/02/2022 One in 10 people know someone dishonestly claiming a discount on their council tax bill, the UK’s fraud prevention service has found. |
Universal Credit would be better delivery vehicle for energy bills support
17/02/2022 Universal Credit has the data on those likely to need support with energy bills and would be a more effective way to target the £150 council tax rebate, says Deven Ghelani. |
Council uses tree planting to encourage council tax e-billing
15/02/2022 Shropshire residents can now support tree planting efforts by opting to receive their council tax bills electronically, the local council has said. |
Welsh councils call for clarification over council tax rebate
10/02/2022 The Government has reassured council chiefs in Wales that the Welsh government will receive £180m of new funding as a result of the council tax rebate. |
Gove asked to clarify new council tax rebate
09/02/2022 Michael Gove has been called on to clarify whether local authorities will be reimbursed for any loses that result from a council tax rebate scheme. |
Sunak unveils £150 council tax rebate
03/02/2022 Local authorities have been tasked with administering a council tax rebate and £144m fund to soften the impact of soaring energy prices. |
Parish leaders call for council tax referendum exemption
17/01/2022 Local council leaders have called on the Government to grant parish and town councils a multi-year exemption on council tax referendum principles. |
Gove closes tax loophole on second homes
14/01/2022 A loophole that allows second home owners to avoid paying council tax by falsely claiming their properties are holidays lets will be closed under new measures. |
Gove unveils £54bn finance settlement
16/12/2021 The provisional local government finance settlement for 2022-23 represents an additional £3.5bn or 4% increase in real terms compared to 2021-22. |
Counties face funding shortfall of over £500m next year
10/12/2021 County councils are facing a funding gap of over £500m in 2022 resulting in council tax rises or service cuts, leaders have warned today. |
Plans for council tax reform in Wales
07/12/2021 The Welsh Government has confirmed it will consult on council tax reforms plans next year to 'modernise' the system. |
MPs launch inquiry into collection of council tax arrears
24/11/2021 An inquiry into how local authorities in England collect council tax arrears has been launched by MPs. |
People with mental health issues three times more likely to fall into council tax arrears, charity warns
11/11/2021 Councils have been urged to provide people with mental health problems with more support to prevent them from falling into council tax debt. |
Age UK warns 10% council tax hike would still not fix care
15/10/2021 Charity Age UK has warned council tax would need to go up by another 10% next year just to allow social care to ‘stand still’. |
Councils calls for extension of council tax support funding
11/10/2021 The Government has been urged to fund local council tax support schemes for the next three years to support families on low income. |
Nearly 430,000 people missed a council tax payment last year
08/10/2021 Hundreds of thousands of people in Scotland have missed a council tax payment in the last year after running out of money before pay day, a new analysis finds. |
Counties in council tax warning
07/10/2021 County leaders have warned council tax bills would have to rise by almost a quarter over three years to get close to eliminating their deficit. |
Local services will face £8bn funding blackhole by 2024, councils warn
01/10/2021 Council tax will have to rise by more than a quarter in the next three years to cover the shortfall in funding for local services, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned today. |
Welsh Government looks at holiday home reforms
26/08/2021 Holiday home owners in Wales could be charged the full amount of business rates amid claims people are being priced out of their local area. |
Cotswold council apologises for distress caused by council tax warnings
26/08/2021 Cotswold council has apologised after being criticised for the way it handled a man’s request for help paying his council tax during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Tax ‘loophole’ costs councils £110m
09/08/2021 New research suggests business rates relief for holiday lets is currently worth £110m a year. |
Councils missing out on £110m a year due to holiday home tax break
05/08/2021 Councils are missing out on £110m a year in council tax income due to a loophole in the business rates system, new research has shown. |
It’s time to stop counting on the courts to collect council tax arrears
04/08/2021 John Doyle calls on councils to rethink ineffective processes used to handle arrears and focus on communication, affordability, and vulnerability. |
District cancels 700 court summonses
28/07/2021 Harborough DC has apologised to residents after issuing hundreds of court summonses for unpaid council tax in error. |
MPs call for urgent council finance reforms
19/07/2021 Councils should be given more flexibility to raise their own taxes and social care funding urgently needs to be reformed, MPs have said. |
Council tax debt rises to £4.4bn
24/06/2021 Council tax debt increased by £841m last year due to the pandemic reducing or delaying recovery action, official figures have shown. |
Council tax collection deficit hits £500m
27/05/2021 Councils will need ‘additional help from taxpayers’ to balance their books, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has warned. |
Report makes case for Annual Proportional Property Tax system
20/05/2021 A think tank has argued council tax and stamp duty should be scrapped and replaced with an Annual Proportional Property Tax (APPT). |
Charity warns of 'astonishing' level of underclaimed council tax support
14/04/2021 Older people on low incomes in Scotland missed out on £88m in Council Tax Reduction support last year, a charity has warned. |
Think tank calls for reform of 'regressive' council tax in Scotland
12/04/2021 Council tax in Scotland should be increased to the same levels as the rest of the UK, a think tank has argued today. |
Council tax revaluation would help level up, says IFS
31/03/2021 A new council tax revaluation would boost the Government’s levelling up agenda, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. |
Chancellor urged to reform 'poorly designed' council tax
15/03/2021 Campaigners have called for a review into 'poorly designed' council tax, warning it places the biggest burden on those living in less prosperous parts of the country. |
Council tax hits £2,000 barrier in two regions
11/03/2021 The typical council tax bill for an average property in England’s north-east and south-west will be more than £2,000 a year for the first time, according to research from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). |
Councils face £1.3bn shortfall on council tax, says IFS
05/02/2021 Councils face a £1.3bn shortfall in the council tax they were expecting for 2020-21, finance think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated. |
Scottish Budget 'falls short'
29/01/2021 The Scottish Government’s £11.6bn budget ‘falls short of the fair funding local government requires,’ councils have said. |
Conservative MPs refuse to vote down hike in council tax
26/01/2021 Conservative MPs last night refused to vote against a rise in council tax that a poll says is opposed by nearly half (48%) of adults in England. |
Labour to force vote over council tax rise
22/01/2021 Labour will force a vote in the House of Commons to stop government plans to force councils to raise council tax by 5%. |
Government should use tax system to ‘level up’, think tank says
18/01/2021 Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda must use the tax system to spread opportunity and growth to less prosperous places, think tank says. |
Scottish councils call for fair funding to avoid 'damaging consequences'
12/01/2021 Council leaders in Scotland have called for an end of small ring-fenced pots of funding and no cap on council tax in this year’s Budget. |
Starmer demands halt to ‘absurd’ council tax rises
11/01/2021 Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for central government to increase funding for local authorities to prevent council tax hikes. |
Sadiq Khan proposes 9.5% council tax increase
08/01/2021 The mayor of London has announced council tax will increase by 9.5% to help fund free travel for young people and the over 60s. |
Charity warns of council tax debt ‘explosion’
04/01/2021 Thousands of people in Scotland have racked up £6.8m in council tax arrears, a charity has warned. |
Councils told to prepare for 'breathing space moratorium' on council tax debt
16/12/2020 Councils have been reminded that households struggling to pay their council tax bills will be able to pause payments from next May. |
Funding boost for council tax support scheme in Wales
27/11/2020 Councils in Wales will receive an extra £2.6m to meet the increasing demand for Council Tax Reduction Schemes. |
Spending Review: 'Risk all sits on local government'
26/11/2020 The Spending Review failed to tackle key issues such as reforms to local government funding, sector experts have warned. |
Think tank calls for new health and social care tax
11/11/2020 A new health and social care tax raising £17bn should be the centrepiece of sweeping tax increases to raise £40bn a year, according to a new report from think-tank the Resolution Foundation. |
Record number of people claiming council tax discount
30/10/2020 Councils are facing costs of £586m due to the record number of people claiming council tax support this year, new analysis has shown. |
Calls to pause enforcement of council tax arrears in Tier 3 areas
21/10/2020 Local authorities in Tier 3 areas should not be required to enforce the collection of council tax debts, argues Citizens Advice. |
Councils face £3bn COVID-19 funding gap
22/09/2020 Financial pressures within local government will outstrip additional funding by around £3.1bn this year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found. |
Funding boost for council tax reduction scheme in Wales
01/09/2020 Welsh councils will receive an extra £2.8m to help cover the increased demand for the council tax reduction scheme. |
Pre-crisis council tax arrears reached £3.6bn
19/08/2020 Local authorities were owed £3.6bn in unpaid council tax before the start of the pandemic, figures have shown. |
Bailiff costs could add £158m to council tax debt, charity warns
14/07/2020 People in council tax debt could face an extra £158m in bailiff and court costs, research has warned today. |
Think tank calls for sweeping reforms to local taxes
06/07/2020 A group of former Treasury special advisers have called for revaluation of the council tax and reform of business rates to boost the economy post-COVID-19. |
A fifth of people would pay more council tax to fix potholes
03/07/2020 A fifth of people would be prepare to pay an extra 10% in council tax to help cover the cost of road improvements, a new poll has shown. |
Jenrick announces more cash, income compensation and tax delay
02/07/2020 Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has announced more cash and new ways councils will be reimbursed for income lost as a result of coronavirus. |
No bail outs for commercial investments
22/05/2020 Plans to bail out councils struggling with their finances could vary between authorities - but they will not cover commercial investments, The MJ understands. |
Charities warn millions of people in council tax arrears due to Covid-19
21/05/2020 Over two million people have fallen behind on their council tax payments as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, debt charities have warned. |
Government urged to fund council tax payment holidays for vulnerable households
01/05/2020 The Government should provide councils with extra funding to offer payment holidays for people struggling to pay their council bill, according to Citizens Advice. |
Debt collection needs reform, says think tank
27/04/2020 Local government should follow the lead of the private sector when it comes to debt collection, the latest report from the Centre for Social Justice think tank has claimed. |
Counties warn against a blanket council tax deferral scheme
08/04/2020 County councils have warned that a blanket council tax deferral scheme could create significant financial problems for local government. |
Councils given direction on using £500m Hardship Fund
24/03/2020 Councils will be given £500m to help reduce council tax payments for vulnerable people and those most affected by the coronavirus crisis. |
Council tax ‘arbitrary and unfair’, think tank says
19/03/2020 Financial experts have criticised the current council tax arrangements and called on the Government to reform them as part of the ‘levelling up’ agenda. |
Council tax to rise by 3.7% on average
06/03/2020 The average council tax bill is set to increase by 3.7% in 2020/21, new analysis has revealed. |
Council votes for climate change referendum
02/03/2020 Warwick DC has voted to hold a referendum on a 34.2% rise in its share of council tax to fund a climate emergency action programme. |
Outdated regulations forcing councils to use 'harsh' debt collection processes
25/02/2020 Forcing people to pay off their entire council tax bill if they miss one payment is pushing people into 'desperate' hardship, a charity has warned today. |
Councils face £19bn funding gap by 2025
21/02/2020 Councils will face a funding shortfall of £19.1bn over the next five years despite planning council tax increases, new research has shown. |
Government announces financial support for flood-hit areas
19/02/2020 The Government has announced councils in areas affected by recent flooding will receive grants to cover the cost of council tax and business rates reliefs. |
Councils warn about 'hidden cuts' in Scottish Budget
06/02/2020 Council leaders have complained about ‘hidden cuts’ in a Scottish Budget that will deliver £11.3bn for council services in 2020/21. |
Cuts force most councils to increase council tax and charges
05/02/2020 The majority of councils are planning on raising council tax and charging for services in 2020/21 in order to make ends meet, new research has revealed. |
Borough seeking unitary status sparks spending row
03/02/2020 A row over council spending has broken out between a county council and a borough authority that is seeking unitary status. |
Pay dispute threatens to ‘disrupt’ council tax collection
24/01/2020 Newham council faces ‘significant disruption’ to council tax collection and rebates when staff stage a week-long strike in a job evaluation row. |
Jenrick hails 'biggest multi-billion pound spending increase in a decade'
20/12/2019 Local government secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed what he describes as the ‘biggest multi-billion pound spending increase for councils in a decade’. |
Councils detecting more cases of fraud
19/11/2019 Councils prevented 22% more cases of council tax fraud this year compared to 2017/18, new figures have revealed. |
Caerphilly council agrees 7% council tax hike
14/11/2019 A county council in Wales has agreed a package of savings proposals which include a council tax increase of nearly 7%. |
Charity blasts ‘broken’ debt collection system
13/11/2019 Local authorities have been criticised for using bailiffs to collect unpaid council tax from struggling households. |
Councils need billions more in funding, research finds
10/11/2019 Councils will need billions of extra pounds worth of funding in the next parliament, if they are to meet the rising cost of adult social care, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated. |
Medway trials new way of collecting council tax
01/11/2019 A leading councillor has hailed a trial scheme to deduct council tax directly from earnings as a way to target people who ignore reminder letters and refuse to pay. |
Millions struggling to pay council tax and household bills, study finds
08/10/2019 Nearly 1.6 million people are falling behind on their council tax payments, new research has revealed. |
County council chiefs urge PM to ‘level up’ funding across country
19/08/2019 More than 30 leaders of England’s county councils have called on the new Government to ‘level up’ investment in all parts of the country. |
Forced into aggressive debt collection?
08/07/2019 With more households falling behind in council tax payments, are councils becoming too aggressive in the way they collect arrears? Neil Merrick investigates. |
The rise of the ‘super’ parish council
26/06/2019 With figures showing parish precepts have risen by 4.9% this year, Neil Merrick explores how parish councils are using the extra revenue to deliver increased and better services. |
Councils warn of new wave in council tax scams
10/06/2019 Criminals are posing as council staff to con people out of money, the Local Government Association (LGA) has warned. |
Labour considers abolishing council tax for renters
04/06/2019 Labour Party is considering proposals to replace council tax with a ‘progressive property tax’, which would be payable by property owners rather than tenants. |
Council tax is ‘regressive’, financial experts say
28/05/2019 Council tax hits the poorest residents much harder than it does the wealthiest, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. |
Council tax guide published to protect ‘vulnerable’
28/05/2019 The Government has published a council tax guide to help protect ‘vulnerable households’. |
Council tax system needs 'fundamental reform'
16/05/2019 The council tax system is ‘highly regressive and unsustainable,’ and needs ‘fundamental reform,’ progressive think-tank IPPR has argued. |
‘Smart bins’ and tax cuts could help increase recycling rates, report says
13/05/2019 Local authorities could use ‘smart bins’ and council tax cuts to help drive up recycling rates in their areas, a new study has recommended. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.