Government to press ahead with reforms to enforcement of council tax but promises to carry out new burdens assessment

In its response to its consultation on improving enforcement of council tax, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said councils would be required to issue at least one reminder notice and one final notice before a taxpayer loses the right to pay by instalments.

It will also prescribe additional information to be included in notices and develop an optional notice template, to be set out in guidance.

The MHCLG will meanwhile prescribe a notice schedule under which a final notice may not be issued less than 14 days after the most recent reminder notice and no earlier than 41 days after the first missed payment.

Taxpayers will then have 21 days from the issue of a final notice to pay any outstanding council tax before losing the right to pay by instalments.

The Ministry added that it would develop guidance, drawing on best practice to promote early engagement, appropriate support and proportionate recovery action “while preserving councils’ discretion to determine the most appropriate approach in individual circumstances”.

The MHCLG said it recognised concerns raised by local authorities and other stakeholders regarding the operational and financial impacts of these changes.

It said it would undertake a full new burdens assessment and continue to engage with local authorities, software suppliers and other stakeholders to support implementation.

“The government considers that this package strikes an appropriate balance between supporting taxpayers experiencing financial difficulty and ensuring councils can collect council tax effectively and address deliberate non-payment,” the Ministry added.

The MCHLG consultation response also recognised concerns regarding the use of enforcement agents in council tax recovery.

It said: “While councils should always take proportionate action and seek to support taxpayers where appropriate, the government believes it is right that councils retain a range of tools to address deliberate non-payment, including, where necessary, the use of enforcement agents.”

The Ministry noted recent action being taken to better regulate the enforcement sector. In August, the Ministry of Justice announced that the Government will amend regulations so that all privately employed enforcement agents may only obtain a certificate to use the taking control of goods procedure to enforce debts if they work for a company that is accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB), or if they are accredited by the ECB themselves, if they work independently.

“The government can now confirm that this reform will also apply to certificated enforcement agents that work directly to local authorities,” it said.

“This will mean that local authorities that employ in-house enforcement agents will have to be accredited by the ECB. This reform seeks to make sure that people in debt are treated fairly and will make all certificated enforcement agents that enforce council tax subject to the same professional standards and independent oversight by the ECB.”

A new burdens assessment will be carried out in relation to this policy, it added.