Hunger and broken shoes: Why we need a more compassionate approach to council tax debt collection

Imagine you fell behind on one council tax payment. Maybe the direct debit failed, maybe a life shock – such as a relationship breakdown or job loss – got in the way of your ability to pay, or perhaps you simply couldn’t afford to meet the cost alongside other essentials. And then imagine that your council – instead of considering your circumstances and looking to find constructive solutions – demanded the rest of your annual bill within weeks.

This situation seems far-fetched. But it is the harsh reality that people who fall behind on council tax bills in England and Wales can and do face, under current rules. Not only this, but they can find themselves being threatened with imprisonment for non-payment, and see their arrears quickly escalated to the point of bailiffs visiting their homes. 

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These are alarming circumstances when you consider the vast number of people struggling with council tax bills. At StepChange Debt Charity, a third of our clients responsible for paying council tax are in arrears – that’s over 40,000 people. They’re disproportionately likely to be women, single parents, and social or private renters. What’s more, two-thirds of this group have an additional vulnerability beyond their financial situation, like a health condition.

Yet StepChange’s new report, Looking Through the Keyhole, reveals how unaffordable bills, inadequate support and harmful collection tactics all contribute to harrowing outcomes for those who struggle with council tax.  

StepChange clients are most likely to fall behind on council tax due to cost of living pressures, often in combination with mental health issues such as stress, anxiety or depression. Many are forced to make bleak choices between feeding their family or falling behind on household bills, between keeping a roof over their heads or foregoing another priority payment. The fallout from such affordability challenges is severe, as one client told us that in an attempt to keep up with council tax bills, they went without food and had been walking around in broken shoes for over four months.

It is hard to convincingly argue that demanding the full year’s liability after missing one council tax payment makes any logical sense when confronted with these experiences. More than that, this approach is fundamentally unfair. It doesn’t allow people who are already struggling the time and space to consider their options, seek support and find solutions. 

While there are welcome examples of councils seeking to tailor support, most of the clients we surveyed reported poor experiences. A perceived lack of understanding and difficulty agreeing affordable repayment plans with councils made people feel scared, anxious and isolated. Rather than taking a holistic approach focused on compassionate, empathetic intervention, it appears that many councils are instead passing the pressures of in-year collection rates onto vulnerable residents.

This much is clear when we consider how rapidly and frequently councils choose to pass people onto bailiff action. Our homes should give us a sense of security and be a safe refuge from the outside world. Yet the anticipation or experience of an intrusive bailiff visit can destabilise everyday lives. This is especially concerning given evidence shows bailiffs often fall short of responsible debt collection standards, and there’s currently no statutory regulator of the industry.

For one client, the fear caused by the tone of enforcement communications and the feeling that she had “nowhere to stay or feel safe” meant she drove to a car park and considered spending the night there with her child, rather than be at home. 

Sadly, that’s not all people have to put up with. A final sanction of imprisonment for non-payment of council tax remains a feature of the current council tax regulations in England – a practice which evokes centuries-old imagery of severe punishment for the simple fact of being in debt.

While the number of people actually sent to prison for council tax non-payment is low, the threat itself is harmful – leading to distress and panic for some. Several single parents described immense worry and pressure stemming from fear about what would happen to their children should this become their reality. 

As one client put it to us, poverty is not a crime. The good news is that this archaic sanction has already been eradicated elsewhere in the UK, most recently in Wales in 2019. England now remains the only, lonely outlier. 

Aggressive collection tactics seep into the fabric of people’s lives, affecting not only those who have fallen behind but those around them. When people are free from the entanglement of problem debt, they have more time to invest in their wellbeing, relationships and their home.

It’s time for a fundamental rethink. The instability generated by the current council tax support and collection system is not inevitable, nor is it impossible to fix.  

That’s why – as a charity on the frontline of the personal debt crisis – StepChange is calling on the new government to bring about a package of meaningful changes which would prevent more people from falling behind on council tax bills – and properly protect those who do. 

Emily Whitford is a senior public policy advocate at debt charity StepChange and the author of Looking Through the Keyhole, a policy report which analyses the council tax collection journey.

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