Improved support for council tax debtors

A series of proposals have been announced today by Citizens Advice and the Local Government Association (LGA) in a bid to improve council tax arrears collection practices.

At the LGA conference in Harrogate today, a new protocol was unveiled which proposes to improve the level of service council tax payers receive by strengthening existing relations between local authorities and advice agencies. The proposals aims to strike a balance between the effective collection of council tax arrears and the provision of debt advice to those facing financial difficulties.

The proposed measures to achieve this include placing debt advice contact details on council tax notices and producing literature to address debtor concerns about bailiffs and enforcement. The proposals also argue that promoting different payment date options within the month would allow people to budget more effectively and put money aside for council tax each month.

David Harker, chief executive at Citizens Advice said:

“By setting down clear procedures and keeping them regularly under review, all parties can ensure that cases of arrears are dealt with quickly and realistically whilst complaints are handled efficiently.”

“This partnership approach is even more important at a time of economic uncertainty in order to ensure that taxpayers are able to pay their council tax bills on time, get the benefits to which they are entitled and those in financial difficulty get high quality debt advice. One of the strengths of the protocol is that it is based on examples that have been tried and tested at one or more local authority in England or Wales. ”

Cllr Margaret Eaton, Chairman of the LGA, said:

“The impact of the economic downturn has been clear to councils from an early stage. Town halls have seen an increase in demand for debt, housing and employment advice services.

“Councils continue to watch out for local people who need more help. It’s crucial everyone keeps on working together to provide the safety net that more residents will be depending on as times get tougher. This protocol shows how much councils are already doing and will ensure the best support and advice is made available to as many people as possible.”