Council tax could rise £220 in next three years
Council tax in England could rise by as much as £220 per year within three years, researchers have according to new research by the Nuffield Foundation in partnership with Citi. Under current government spending plans, council tax increases of 3.6% per year will be needed for the next three years just to ensure councils can…
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Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank to launch in November
A new Credit & Technology Think Tank has been launched by Credit Connect Media. The event will examine credit and collections technology strategies to increase effectiveness and efficiency as we emerge from the worst impact of the pandemic. The inaugural Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank powered by Credit Connect will take place on Thursday…
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Looming Council tax ‘crisis’ as seven million worry about affording bills
Over seven million people (14%) are worried that they will not be able to afford their council tax bills over the next year, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. Findings from the charity’s ‘Council Tax After Covid’ report have highlighted that some vulnerable groups are most at risk of falling behind on…
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Companies owe councils £2.5bn in unpaid business rates
Analysis of official data by real estate advisers Altus Group shows that companies owe English local authorities almost £2.5 billion in unpaid business rates, with the pandemic and subsequent restrictions driving up debt piles. The increase in rates arrears comes despite the Government offering retail, leisure and hospitality companies a rates holiday since the onset…
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Call for reform as council tax arrears rise to £4.4bn
New figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have shown that council tax arrears in England have risen to £4.4 billion. The figures show that In 2020-21 local authorities collected a total of £32.2 billion in council tax. This was an increase of £0.6 billion, or 1.9%, over 2019-20. This is lower…
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Folkestone & Hythe Council awards NSL enforcement contract extension
Folkestone & Hythe District Council has awarded NSL, a Marston Holdings company, a three-year contract extension for the provision of parking enforcement and debt recovery services. Under this contract, which was originally awarded in 2017, NSL will continue to provide enforcement of on and off-street parking regulations, including the management of coastal car parks, special…
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Money Statistics: March 2021
Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,700.2 billion at the end of January 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,999 and per adult was £32,087, around 107.6% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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Collections Technology Think Tank 2.0 review
Credit Connect’s hosted its second Online Collections Technology Think Tank 2.0 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of the pandemic discussed by fourteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of business transformation, customer engagement, affordability, and open banking collections were discussed by panellists and Chair Vanessa Northam from StepChange.…
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Pandemic set to tip 370,000–480,000 households into debt
The number of households experiencing problem debt could rise to 1.5 million by the middle of the year, the highest level since the period following the global financial crisis and an increase of 370,000–480,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to research published by Pro Bono Economics for Citizens Advice. The report also suggests…
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Government urged to bring forward Debt Management Bill
The Money Advice Trust has urged the government to prioritise reforms to the way it collects debts following the Cabinet Office’s publication of responses to its call for evidence on fairness in government debt collection. The publication highlights evidence submitted to the government on the widespread issues with the current approaches to debt collection in…
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Mounting financial impact of pandemic emerging
As 2020 came to a close, the fuller picture of Covid-19’s effect on UK household finances continued to emerge, demonstrating the significant mounting financial impact of the pandemic, according to the January 2021 Money Statistics, produced by The Money Charity. Moving into the final month of 2020, the uneven and heavy financial burden being shouldered…
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Household finances remained under strain at the end of 2020
Household financial wellbeing declined faster at the end of 2020 than at any time during the five years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Scottish Widows UK Household Finance Index (HFI). The headline seasonally adjusted index which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing registered at 41.1 during the final quarter of 2020,…
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39% of households will struggle financially in January
A new report by Lowell has revealed that 51% of households are expecting to be worse off financially due to Covid-19 – together with the fact that 93% of the UK had their pay date in December brought forward, meaning that 39% of households will struggle financially (an increase of 32% from last year). Longer…
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