Over 40 MPs and MSs have joined urgent calls for the government to reform council tax collection, as council tax debt and bailiff use rises.

Bailiff use rises in council tax debt collection

The MP and MSs, from the Labour Party, Greens, Plaid Cymru, and Independents, have joined union leaders and councillors in signing open letters community union ACORN has published today, 15 September.

The letter calls for the governments in London and Cardiff to take urgent action to tackle the growing crisis of council tax debt. It urges them to use early intervention and support for those struggling to pay, rather than heavy-handed enforcement action and court orders. All too often, this pushes people further into debt, where they’re made liable for a full year’s bill overnight, and leaves them living in fear of a knock at the door from bailiffs.

ACORN is also calling for an end to the postcode lottery faced by people who fall into council tax arrears. It demands mandated protocols to make sure everyone gets access to support and fair treatment wherever they live. It’s also calling for the government to commit to replacing unfair and ineffective council tax with a proportional property tax.

As well as improving the wellbeing of people and our communities, these changes could also help increase revenues for local councils.

Bailiffs barging into homes with intimidation and threats

The calls come as the government is considering changes to council tax administration, with a consultation closing last week. It also sits amidst rising council tax debt, with recently published figures showing that that constituents now owe £6.6bn to local authorities in England, up 11% on the previous year, and the public owes £264m in Wales.

Campaigners delivered the letter to the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, Minister of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Alison McGovern, and separately to Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Mark Drakeford on 15 September.

ACORN National Chair Chelsea Phillips said:

Council tax arrears have increased dramatically over the past couple of years, with more and more families struggling to pay as the cost of living crisis continues.

Research shows that one in three people in council tax debt live below the poverty line – and the punitive way council tax arrears are collected means people are pushed further into debt, with added liability fees and charges from bailiffs, and can even be made liable for an entire year’s bill at once.

Too many people are coming into contact with bailiffs, and these visits often involve intimidation, threats and shutting down the opportunity of other ways out, such as discussing repayment plans.

It’s hurting people, it’s hurting families, it’s hurting communities, and it must end now.

ACORN has already been successful in reducing bailiff use for council tax debt. It has won campaigns in both Manchester and Brighton, where the local council stopped sending enforcement agents out to anyone in receipt of council tax support, affecting around 50,000 low income families in each city respectively.

Now the union has launched a national campaign, ‘Bailiff Free Britain‘. It wants to see the government change enforcement rules across the board to end what it calls the cruel and unnecessary use of bailiff intimidation against people in financial hardship.

‘Nobody should have to experience that’

Viv Roberts (not her real name), an ACORN member in Manchester, experienced a bailiff visit in 2019 after she was late with a council tax payment. Viv, who was working as a childminder and had children with her at the time of the bailiff visit, was made liable for the whole year’s council tax bill.

She said:

There was a knock at the door. I was surprised – there were bailiffs there demanding I pay the council tax bill for the whole year.

Of course I told them I couldn’t afford this, I didn’t have that money just lying around. I asked if I could pay with a repayment plan, in instalments, and they flat out refused.

I asked the options, they said I would have to pay it there and then, or they would take my belongings – my TV, my kids toys, my cars, or I could go to prison.

Luckily I was able to borrow the money from a family member, but that very easily could have not been the case. I was shaken, and that interaction still affects me today.

Bailiffs threatened Niahl Hubbard, an ACORN member in Norwich, with enforcement action. He had liability order fees added, after missing an increase in his council tax bill.

He said:

I fell into council tax debt a year ago, after a period of struggling with my mental health. I fell behind on post and emails, and missed a 5% increase and subsequently didn’t update my direct debit.

Over a couple of months this added up, and because I had previously been in council tax arrears, this was immediately escalated to the courts, with more fees added on.

I had a letter saying bailiffs would be coming to my home, and this was truly terrifying. I was staggered at how quickly this had escalated, from £20-£40, to £hundreds, and the threat of bailiffs which only added to my health issues.

Thankfully things improved for me, and I was soon able to get on top of it and managed to pay it off, but for many people I just don’t think this would be the case.

Nobody should have to experience that – the threat of bullies coming to your home, your place of safety, to shake you down for money.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

This post was originally published on Canary.