A DEBT advice service has urged Rugby Borough Council (RBC) to improve the way it collects council tax arrears and other debts after it revealed the council sent bailiffs to residents nearly 450 times in the space of a year.
New figures from National Debtline and the Centre for Social Justice revealed RBC referred 447 debts to bailiffs in 2022-23, prompting renewed calls for improvements to its debt collection practices.
Although the figure was down by 53 per cent on pre-pandemic levels, National Debtline – a free debt advice service run by the Money Advice Trust charity – says that bailiff use remains too high.
The charity is calling for RBC to adopt its ‘six steps’ to improve collection practices, including exempting residents receiving local Council Tax Support from any form of bailiff action.
Steve Vaid, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, said: “Facing bailiff action can be a distressing experience and risks pushing people already struggling into deeper financial difficulty. Bailiffs should only ever be used as a last resort.
“The fact Rugby Borough Council has decreased its use of bailiffs to collect debts is welcome, but there is still more to be done to improve debt collection practices for the benefit of both people in difficulty and councils.
“We have written to the council leader to set out simple steps they can take to improve the way the council collects debts it is owed.
“We are also calling on the new government to support Rugby Borough Council and other councils by introducing ring-fenced funding to enable all local authorities to provide 100 percent Council Tax Support to households on the lowest incomes.”
An RBC spokesperson said: “The council has a duty to collect council tax to ensure essential services can be delivered to our residents across the borough.
“The 447 debts we did refer to bailiffs during 2022-23 represented less than 0.01 per cent of the borough’s households liable for council tax.
“The council only refers debts to bailiffs as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted, and we always advise any resident who is struggling to pay council tax to contact us so we can discuss the payment options available.
“For example, we have recently teamed up with PaymentPlan to offer residents the chance to set up their own debt repayment plans, while we also have flexible Direct Debt dates so residents can choose to pay on a date of the month which suits their other financial commitments.”
They added residents could visit www.rugby.gov.uk/counciltax to check whether they qualified for RBC’s council tax reduction scheme, a council tax discount or a discretionary award.
Visit www.nationaldebtline.org or call 0808 808 4000 for free, independent debt advice from National Debtline.
