Laura Sharman 19 August 2020

Pre-crisis council tax arrears reached £3.6bn

Local authorities were owed £3.6bn in unpaid council tax before the start of the pandemic, figures have shown.

Charities warn that more households will be struggling with council tax debt as a result of the outbreak, with 1.3 million households likely to have built up council tax arrears.

Money Advice Trust is calling for the Government to make changes to council tax regulations to give councils more flexibility to recover debts affordably without resorting to the court process.

This includes changing collection rate targets, stop people becoming automatically liable for their entire bill when they fall behind on installments, and a requirement to set up an affordable repayment plan.

Jane Tully, director of external affairs and partnerships at the Money Advice Trust, said: 'The Government has to move quickly to ensure local authorities are able to collect council tax debt in a fair and proportionate way. This needs to include changing collection rules to ensure people are given the time they need to repay and introducing a ‘pre-action protocol’ councils would be required to follow before starting enforcement action.

'With the government’s ban on council tax bailiff visits set to end this Sunday, we also need to see urgent guidance put in place to protect people from bailiff action as the Coronavirus outbreak continues to impact households.'

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Flood Risk Engineering and Strategy Officer

Coventry City Council
£49,764 - £55,623
In line with our One Coventry Values, we want to ensure that our communities are represented across our workforce Coventry, West Midlands
Recuriter: Coventry City Council

Senior Integrated Transport Officer

Derbyshire County Council
£34,324 - £37,529
Are you an experienced transport planning professional ready to influence strategic policy and drive real change Matlock, Derbyshire
Recuriter: Derbyshire County Council

Support Worker

Durham County Council
£29,093 - £32,654 p.a. i.e. Grade 7
We are looking to appoint a Support Worker to work within the Direct Payments Team to provide advice and support to people accessing Direct Payments.  Spennymoor
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Specialist Support Interpreter

Durham County Council
Grade 6 - £27,269 - £30,060
The DurhamLearn Foundation Learning programme area delivers Digital Skills, English & Maths Functional Skills and ESOL.   An opportunity has arisen fo Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Social Worker

Durham County Council
Grade 9 £34,314 - £37,938 (Pre-Progression)/ Grade 11 £39,513 - £43,693 (Post-Progression)
Are you an experienced social worker keen to ensure that children and young people, who, unable to live with their parents are brought up by members o Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council
Linkedin Banner
OSZAR »