Council tax warrants rise 40 per cent

The number of people issued with warrants for council tax arrears has risen by nearly 40 per cent in the past five years.

A total of 463,729 summary warrants were issued in 2016/17 – a 38 per cent increase from the total of 337,089 recorded in 2011/12, according to official data from the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

The warrants, which are granted by the court, can see people have their bank accounts frozen and wages arrested. Sheriff officers can additionally be given the power to remove belongings from someone’s home to repay the debt. Labour claimed the rise in warrants showed many Scots were struggling with the “cost-of-living crisis”. It called on the Scottish Government to scrap the council tax system altogether.

The SNP had pledged to abolish the council tax in its 2007 manifesto, but later dropped the commitment.