The amount of unpaid council tax has reached a ‘new historic high’ of £5.5bn, according to official figures released by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities.
The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), which analysed the figures, said council tax arrears grew by over half a billion pounds (£510m) in the year to March 2023 and have more than doubled in the last decade.
The think tank warned that vulnerable families, who are most at risk from high inflation and mortgage rates, are increasingly at risk of being visited by bailiffs.
Since April 2021, at least 3.3 million liability orders have been granted by magistrates which give councils wide-ranging powers to recover a debt including the ability to send in bailiffs, deduct money directly from wages or benefits, force the sale of a home, or even have a debtor sent to prison.
Matthew Greenwood, head of Debt at the CSJ, said: ‘We don’t live in the 1990s anymore and the vast majority of people are perfectly willing to pay their council tax. Outdated regulation and overzealous use of bailiffs drives vulnerable families, who can’t afford their bills, into a debt spiral while worsening their issue with further fees.
‘We need a new conversation about how we help vulnerable families out of debt. It is with targeted support and long-term repayment plans that the public purse can get the money it is owed, not aggressive collection.’
Sign up here to receive our free daily news and jobs bulletin.
