Covid-19: People Living in Poverty

Baroness Coussins Excerpts

Thursday 30th April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Coussins (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as president of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline.

One concern is council tax. Even before Covid-19, 30% of callers to National Debtline were in arrears. Some councils have announced help for people who are struggling to pay, but it varies enormously between councils. The Government have told councils to use the £500 million hardship funding primarily to knock £150 off the bill this year for those on council tax support, but the problem is that many people who have lost their job or had their income hit in other ways by the pandemic were not on council tax support in the first place. Without extra central government funding, I fear that we will see a significant rise in the number of people falling into arrears and facing unreasonable pressure to pay. Will the Minister please undertake to look at what more the Government can do, so that local authorities can give payment breaks to all those who need them?