Council Tax Collection

Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 15 Nov 2021 Closed: 6 Mar 2024 Parliament page
This inquiry will lookinto council tax collection in England, examining the practices employed by local authorities to collect council tax arrears. The inquiry will also look at other issues including whether there should be changes to the legislation on the recovery of council tax arrears, and how local authority council … Read more
12 Recommendations
9 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
8 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 14 events
14 May
2024
Correspondence
14 May
2024
Correspondence
16 Apr
2024
Correspondence
16 Apr
2024
Correspondence
1 Feb
2024
Report published
1 Dec
2023
Report published
18 Jul
2023
Correspondence
18 Apr
2023
Correspondence
27 Feb
2023
Oral evidence
27 Feb
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Wilson Room, Portcullis House
18 Oct
2022
Correspondence
12 Jul
2022
Correspondence
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
27 Feb 2023
View on parliament.uk
Oral Evidence
Lee Rowley · Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Nico Heslop · Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
6 Jun 2022
View on parliament.uk
Oral Evidence
Alistair Townsend · Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation Catherine Brown · Enforcement Conduct Board Councillor Stephanie Cryan · London Borough of Southwark Kevin Stewart · Mid Sussex District Council Paul Whyte · Whyte & Co Ltd Rachel Beddow · Citizens Advice Russell Hamblin-Boone · Civil Enforcement Association
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - Council Tax Collection HC 57 1 Dec 2023 21 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
3 results
Clear
3 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Amend regulations to enshrine ability-to-pay principle and mandate affordable council tax repayment plans.
In addition, by the end of this Parliament, the Government should amend existing regulations to enshrine in law the principle that collection should be based on a resident’s ability to pay, including by requiring local authorities to offer people affordable … Read more
Government Response
The government partially accepts the recommendation by committing to write to all councils to stress their discretion in offering flexible payment timelines and encouraging affordable repayment plans, but it does not commit to amending existing regulations to enshrine this principle in law.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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13 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Mandate local authorities to only use Enforcement Conduct Board registered enforcement agencies.
In preparation for this review, we recommend that the Government start to collect the necessary data, so that it has a strong evidence base on which to make a decision, and that it keep us updated on the progress of … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees to update the committee on the upcoming review process, including data collection methodology. While not requiring local authorities to use ECB-registered firms, DLUHC will write to councils encouraging them to use accredited firms.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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15 Recommendation Accepted in Part
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Create an environment enabling easy, consistent data sharing to identify residents at risk of arrears.
The Government should not wait for local authorities to approach the Cabinet Office to learn how they can make better use of data sharing, but instead create an environment where this happens easily and consistently. We recommend that: • an … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for universal credit applications to automatically trigger local council tax support applications due to potential bureaucracy. However, it outlines ongoing and planned actions to improve data sharing between DWP and councils, including increasing the scope of MOUs, delivering data improvements, and exploring legislative changes.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 12 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 3
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 1
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 8
Total 12 recs + 9 conclusions
Correspondence 8 letters
14 May 2024 To committee Letter from the Minister for Local Government to the Chair dated 2 May 2024 concerning the Government’s response to the Committee’s Report on Council Tax Collection
Parliament page
14 May 2024 To committee Letter from the UK Information Commissioner to the Chair dated 2 May 2024 concerning the Committee’s Report on Council Tax Collection
Parliament page
16 Apr 2024 To committee Letter from the Chair to the Secretary of State dated 15 April 2024 concerning the Government response to the Committee's report on Council Tax Collection
Parliament page
16 Apr 2024 To committee Letter from the Chair to the Information Commissioner's Office dated 15 April 2024 concerning the Government response to the Committee's report on Council Tax Collection
Parliament page
18 Jul 2023 To committee Letter from the Enforcement Conduct Board to the Chair dated 14 July 2023 concerning council tax collection
Parliament page
18 Apr 2023 To committee Letter from the Enforcement Conduct Board to the Chair dated 28 March 2023 concerning council tax collection
Parliament page
18 Oct 2022 To committee Letter from the Enforcement Conduct Board to the Chair dated 10 October 2022 concerning council tax collection
Parliament page
12 Jul 2022 Letters from the Civil Enforcement Association to the Chair dated 20 June 2022 concerning Council Tax Collection
Parliament page