FOI request (FOIR-647308379)

Council tax arrears

Requested Mon 16 September 2024
Responded Fri 11 October 2024

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information regarding council tax arrears in your jurisdiction.

1. Total Number of Council Tax Arrears Cases

a. Please provide the total number of council tax accounts that are currently in arrears as of the date of this request, regardless of whether they have been referred for legal recovery.

b. Additionally, please provide the total amount of council tax owed across all accounts in arrears identified in part 1a.

2. Please provide the top three biggest outstanding council tax arrears owed by account holders as of the date of this request. For each of the three cases, please include:

a. The arrears amount

b. The length of time since the debt was first referred to recovery or legal action

c. The first three digits of the postcode where the account is registered (or, if the area is sparsely populated, the first two digits; if this would still be too revealing of personal data, I'm happy for you to omit this part of the question)

3. How many council tax arrears cases were referred to court for the issuance of liability orders in the financial years:

a. 2022/23

b. 2023/24

4. Please provide the number of council tax arrears cases referred to bailiffs for recovery in:

a. 2022/23

b. 2023/24

Response

1a. 12,820

1b. £32,260,341.92

2a. £59,043.40, £51,367.95, £46,330.84

2b. April 2013, April 2009, August 2013

2c. 34, 38, 38

3a. 3,177

3b. 3,719

4a. 1,923

4b. 2,072