Councils fail to collect £2.5 billion Council Tax
A whopping £2.5 billion in Council Tax remains unpaid, dating right back to its introduction in 1993.
New figures from the Department for Communities & Local Government (DCLG) have revealed that councils have failed to collect £2.5 billion of Council Tax.
This figure is the total amount of Council Tax owed, dating right back to its introduction in 1993. And around £195 million of Council Tax arrears which occurred before 2013/14 has been written off as “uncollectable”.
Overall collection rates remained roughly the same in 2013/14 as they were the previous year, with 97% of Council Tax recouped compared to 97.4% in 2012/2013.
Local Government Minister Brandon Lewis said that the figures showed there was still “lots of room to improve” when it comes to collecting Council Tax.
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The worst performers
Table five on this section of the Gov.uk website allows you to see the collection rates of each different council in England, so you can compare how your local council performs. I’ve picked out the local authorities with the worst collection rates in the table below.
|
Local authority |
Percentage of Council Tax collected 2013/14 |
Percentage of Council Tax collected 2012/13 |
|
Manchester |
91.7% |
92.9% |
|
Salford |
92.2% |
92.1% |
|
Newham |
92.5% |
93.2% |
|
Rochdale |
93% |
95.2% |
|
Blackpool |
93.1% |
95.5% |
|
Greenwich |
93.1% |
94.2% |
|
Nottingham |
93.2% |
93.5% |
|
Derby |
93.3% |
94.8% |
|
Middlesbrough |
93.4% |
96% |
|
Hackney |
93.6% |
93.5% |
|
Sheffield |
93.7% |
95.3% |
|
Oldham |
93.8% |
95.7% |
|
Doncaster |
93.8% |
94.9% |
|
Stoke-on-Trent |
93.9% |
96.5% |
|
Portsmouth |
94% |
95.1% |
|
Barking & Dagenham |
94.1% |
94.6% |
|
Lewisham |
94.1% |
94.2% |
|
Kingston-upon-Hull |
94.2% |
95.8% |
|
Tameside |
94.2% |
95.1% |
|
Bradford |
94.3% |
95.5% |
The collection rate in Manchester is clearly absolutely atrocious. The 8.3% that remains unpaid (dating back to the introduction of Council Tax) is worth a whopping £12 million. Neighbouring Salford is little better, responsible for a shortfall of £7 million, while Newham accounts for £6 million.
Council Tax debts
Citizens Advice and the StepChange Debt Charity have both reported significant jumps in the number of people struggling with Council Tax debt this year.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise as changes to Council Tax benefit last year (which saw it replaced with a localised Council Tax support) meant that more than two million low-income families have had to pay an average of nearly £140 more Council Tax a year.
Council Tax arrears are classed as a priority debt, so not paying can lead to significant problems. Your local authority can apply to take the money you owe from your benefits or wages, bailiffs can be sent to your home or you could even be sent to prison.
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More on tax:
5.5 million paid wrong tax in 2013/14
Tax codes: how to check you're on the right one
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