Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Council tax arrears in the UK have reached £9.3 billion after rising by £1 billion over the past year, a 12% increase.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reported that England accounts for £7.4 billion of the total, with Scotland at £1.6 billion and Wales at £320 million. In the past five years, council tax arrears have increased by 65%.
Millions of households in England faced an average council tax bill hike of 4.9% from 1st April.
Separate data from the GMB Union showed that 1.5 million people were taken to court over unpaid council tax debt last year. The Union sent a freedom of information request to all local authorities in Britain with responsibility for collecting council tax, with almost 200 replying within the statutory deadline.
The results showed 1,430,726 people had been summoned to court in the financial year 2024/25.
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said “These horrifying figures show our council tax system is completely broken. Not only is the banding system woefully out of date, but forcing cash-strapped councils to pursue one and a half million people through the courts just to make ends meet can’t be the right way to do business.”
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