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
8 results
Clear
6 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Replace council tax imprisonment sanction with alternative deterrents such as bank arrestment or community service.
The Government should amend existing regulations by the end of this Parliament to replace the sanction of imprisonment with more suitable deterrents, such as bank arrestment or community service.
Government Response
The government implicitly rejects the recommendation, defending the existing sanction of imprisonment for wilful non-payment of council tax as a rarely used but necessary tool, and states there are protections in place for residents.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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9 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Current council tax collection guidance lacks specific standards, requiring a statutory code of practice.
The council tax collection best practice guidance, issued by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in 2021, does not set out specific standards expected of local authorities. We agree with the Government that local authorities’ need some discretion, … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the implicit recommendation for a statutory code of practice, stating it has no plans to replace existing guidance with a statutory code and prefers local authorities to retain discretion.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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10 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Introduce a statutory code of practice for council tax collection, including affordable repayment plans.
We recommend that the Government replace the council tax collection best practice guidance with a statutory code of practice, to which local authorities would have to have regard. Among other things, this code of practice should set out what steps … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to replace existing council tax collection guidance with a statutory code of practice, asserting that a clear statutory framework is already in place for councils, offering flexibility for repayment and support.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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16 Conclusion Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Central government lacks crucial understanding of national council tax arrears drivers and causes.
The Minister said it was for local authorities to understand the drivers of council tax arrears in their areas, but we believe that central government has a vital role to play in building a national picture of the causes of … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the committee's concern that it lacks a national understanding of council tax arrears, stating that the complexity of local schemes and factors makes formal research unhelpful, and it has no plans to collect further data due to burdens on councils.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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17 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Publish research assessing council tax support schemes and comprehensive local authority arrears data.
The Government should carry out and publish research to assess different types of local council tax support schemes and how they relate to council tax arrears. In addition to collection rates and levels of arrears, the Government should also publish … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation to carry out research and publish local authority data on council tax support schemes and arrears, stating such research would not be useful and collecting the data would burden councils.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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19 Conclusion Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Outdated council tax collection system increasingly drives more residents into arrears.
The entire system for collecting council tax is outdated and not meeting its desired purpose. This has become increasingly problematic because councils are becoming ever more reliant on council tax for their budgets. In 2015/16, council tax made up 49.1% … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the implied need for a revaluation of council tax bands, citing cost and potential negative impacts on lower-income households. It states a commitment to improving the local government finance landscape in the next Parliament, prioritizing stability in the current one.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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20 Conclusion Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Ministerial commitment to reviewing essential council tax reform has become uncertain.
In November 2022, the Secretary of State agreed there was a case for reforming council tax and said he had asked the previous Minister to look into it. Unfortunately, the previous and current Ministers have since cast doubt on the … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects undertaking a revaluation of council tax bands, citing costs and potential negative impacts on residents, and states it is prioritizing stability in this Parliament while committing to improving the local government finance landscape in the next Parliament.
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
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21 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - Council Tax Collec…
Reform council tax through property revaluation, new bands, and wider long-term options.
We stand by our previous conclusions, and those of our predecessor Committee: the council tax regime is in desperate need of reform and updating. We recommend that the Government reform council tax by undertaking a revaluation of properties and introducing … Read more
Government Response
The government rejects the recommendation for council tax reform, specifically refusing property revaluation and additional bands due to cost and potential impact on low-income households, deferring wider reform considerations to the next Parliament.
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