4.4 million people are currently behind on their council tax bills. Council tax debt has reached £8.3bn, up 300% since 2014. Around half of Citizens Advice clients have a council tax debt problem, and National Debtline customers in council tax debt owe an average of £2,000.
Council tax is the biggest debt collected by private bailiff firms. Last year, councils in England and Wales passed 1.7m council tax cases to bailiffs,
a record high.
Ahead of the 2026 local elections, councillors and candidates must commit to solving this problem.
Many councils have already acted. Hammersmith and Fulham’s ethical debt collection policy has focussed on support while reducing bailiff use to zero. Brighton, Manchester City and 32 others have stopped using bailiffs to collect from people receiving council tax support, all with minimal impact on collection rates.
Bailiff use by local authorities varies, you can check how many referrals were made here.
Research by Policy in Practice confirms that fairer collection practices do not reduce income.
Read the full briefing here
