1.2m in court over council tax debts

Wednesday, 07 January 2009 01:00

Local councils sent court summons to 1.2 million people in 2008 over council tax bills.

In total 600,000 council tax defaulters faced calls from bailiffs and local authorities filled for bankruptcy against 1,706 people.

The data - collected from 171 out of 370 councils by the Liberal Democrats under the Freedom of Information Act - has led the party to call on local authorities to step back from unnecessarily forcing people into bankruptcy.

Julia Goldsworthy, Liberal Democrat shadow local government minister, said: "This survey shows the devastating effect that failing to pay council tax can have on families, especially those already struggling to cope with mortgage repayments and rising bills.

"Just as lenders are being asked to reduce repossessions, public bodies should do everything they can to ensure that bankruptcy is only ever a last resort."

She added: "This is not a licence to avoid paying bills, it is about ensuring that court appearances and bankruptcy are avoided where possible."

The Local Government Association (LGA) maintained just one per cent of council tax arrears cases ended in court or had bailiffs seizing goods and bankruptcy orders were a last resort.

Sir Jeremy Beecham, LGA vice chairman, said: "Only a tiny percentage of people who receive a summons end up in court.

"Councils send out over twenty million bills a year and have a duty to all council taxpayers in their area. Were collection rates to dip, it would mean that council tax would have to rise for everyone simply because a few didn't pay."

He maintained town halls only take measures such as bankruptcy as an absolute last resort and with people who have a history of non-payment.

"People struggling to pay bills are given as much leeway as possible. As a matter of course, councils contact people a number of times before starting legal proceedings or calling the bailiffs," Sir Jeremy stated.

He added councils aim to establish acceptable payment programmes to allow people to pay off debt over a longer period of time and in a way that suits them.
"The last thing councils want to do is to go through long drawn-out and expensive legal proceedings," he stated.

Anyone struggling to pay council tax bills are advised to call their council as soon as they can to stop problems building up.

It is estimated £1.8 billion of council tax benefit goes uncollected each year, meaning that millions are not receiving the cash that they're eligible for.

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