Council tax arrears in borough peak at £10m
THE level of council tax arrears owed to Halton Borough Council reached £10m earlier this year, according to government figures.
As of this March, the amount of money owed by council tax payers in the borough reached eight figures.
This is up from the £8.9m owed to the council in 2017-17 and more than double the £3.9m owed in 2012-13.
The council aimed to collect £58.9m in council tax last year.
The collection rate was 94.7%, leaving £3.1m uncollected for the previous 12 months.
According to the council itself, however, as of the start of July, the arrears have now dropped to £9m.
Most councils when they set their budgets do not expect to collect 100% of the council tax for which they bill residents, but lower than expected collection rates could leave a hole in the budget.
In the country as a whole, local authorities collected a total of £29.3bn in council tax relating to 2018-19 bills.
This was an increase of 6.5% compared to 2017-18 – likely due to rising bills and increasing numbers of households, as well as changes in how discounts are applied.
However, the overall collection rate fell slightly from 97.1% in 2017-18 to
97% in 2018-19. During 2018-19, local authorities collected £625.1m in council tax arrears and wrote off £195m of uncollectable council tax.
At March 31, 2019, the total amount of council tax still outstanding amounted to £3.2bn.
This is an increase from £3bn in March 2018, although it is down from £3.9bn in March 2017.
In reponse to the figures, a council spokesman has pointed to the borough owing ‘significantly less’ in arrears than neighbouring local authorities in the Liverpool city region and as of this month, the total now stands at £9m.
The rise in council tax arrears over the time period has been put down to a series of welfare reforms that were introduced by the government in April 2013.
The spokesman said: “The reforms had a significant effect upon working age council tax benefit claimants. Council tax benefit was abolished and replaced by a new discount known as the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTR).
“Halton received £1.4m less funding from government for this discount, compared to the old council tax benefit scheme and as a result 6,300 working age claimants who previously had paid nothing since the abolition of poll tax in 1993, were affected by the new scheme.
“Each year since April 2013, these claimants have had to pay at least 21.55% of their council tax bill.
“Although council tax arrears were expected to increase significantly with the introduction of the welfare reforms, there are an increasing number of households who are also not clearing their in-year arrears before the next year’s council tax is added to their account.
“In April 2019, Halton was owed £10m in unpaid council tax from previous years, more than double the £3.9m that was outstanding in 2012-13.
“As of July 2019, the £10m arrears has reduced to £9m.
“However, collection rates at Halton over the past 10 years have been one of the best in the North West and in 201819, £55.8m was collected from Halton residents, a collection rate of 94.7%, leaving £3.1m uncollected.
“In terms of the Liverpool city region, Halton is owed significantly less in council tax arrears than any of its neighbouring authorities.
“The collection of council tax is a key priority of the council. There are over 57,000 properties in the borough so it is essential that a systematic but equitable approach is taken to the collection of the council tax debt.
“Failure to ensure maximum collection of council tax puts pressure on the funding for all services operated by the council.
“The important point is for the taxpayer is to make contact with the council tax section if they are experiencing difficulty with paying their bill.
“Staff will always come to a fair arrangement with tax payers to clear debts and remove costs, but many people in arrears often only contact us ‘after’ they have been issued with a liability order or the enforcement agent contacts them.
“From the council’s point of view court action and enforcement action is always the last resort.”
Anyone struggling to pay their council tax bill or is in arrears are advised to call 0151 511 7972 or email council. tax@halton.gov.uk ●