Council tax debt collection to be reviewed

A council in Lincolnshire will review its approach to council tax debt collection.

North East Lincolnshire Council said it would look at how it could focus on prevention and early support for residents who were struggling to pay their bill.

Opposition Labour group leader Emma Clough said the current debt recovery system was "outdated and unnecessary".

A motion for a review was backed unanimously by councillors, which will also consider the use of enforcement agents and arrangements for repayment.

Clough said: "Nowhere else does a single missed payment result in liability for the full year, followed by court costs and bailiff action before any meaningful contact with residents."

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, figures compiled by The Money Advice Trust show the authority instructed bailiffs to recover debts on 8,732 occasions in 2024/25. The figure is 3% down on 2023/24 and 30% down if compared with 2022/23.

The Money Advice Trust is running a campaign called Stop the Knock, which aims to persuade councils to use bailiffs only as a last resort.

Clough said the council's approach to the debt "affects more households in North East Lincolnshire than any of us should feel comfortable with".

The councillor said the local Citizens' Advice service had advised her council tax arrears were one of the most common issues brought to them.

Councillor Stephen Holland said the government's 2021 best practice guidance on council tax collection mentioned North and North East Lincolnshire as best practice for their "enhanced relationships with debt advisors".

However, Holland said it was clear in the guidance that the authority could do more to improve.

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