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8th August 2023
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Council tax debt
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Please consider this request under the FOI Act. I am seeking data on the level of council tax arrears owed to the local authority.
Please provide figures for each of the following financial years: 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23.
1. What was the total value of unpaid council tax debt owed to the council at the end of each financial year?
2017/18: £2,140,000
2018/19: £2,394,000
2019/20: £2,659,000
2020/21: £3,699,000
2021/22: £3,199,000
2022/23: £3,400,000
Data from QRC4 return
2. For each year, what was the total value of council tax debt accrued in that 12-month period?
2017/18: £708,000
2018/19: £812,000
2019/20: £801,000
2020/21: £1,406,000
2021/22: £936,000
2022/23: £932,000
Amounts above are the total arrears in respect of each financial year as listed that were outstanding at the end of that financial year. Data from QRC4 return.
3. In each year, how many households were sent a final notice instructing them to pay the year's council tax in full after missing earlier payments?
2017/18: 188
2018/19: 186
2019/20: 200
2020/21: 57
2021/22: 271
2022/23: 229
4. In each year, how many times did the council instruct bailiffs to enforce liability orders for non-payment of council tax?
2017/18: 1721
2018/19: 2070
2019/20: 2141
2020/21: 797
2021/22: 3125
2022/23: 3420
5. In each year, how many cases were taken back from bailiffs after the council accepted the individual was vulnerable?
2017/18: 0 *
2018/19: 22
2019/20: 18
2020/21: 13
2021/22: 29
2022/23: 35
*For information, Wokingham Borough council changed some of the Enforcement Agents firms that it uses for Council Tax enforcement at the start of the 2018/19 financial year. For 2017/18 data is only available from the Enforcement Agents the council still uses. The available data is listed above.
