Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the findings of the Money Advice Trust’s Lost in the system report; and if he will make a statement.

The Government is grateful to the Money Advice Trust and the important work carried out by the National Debt line to support people facing financial difficulties.

We acknowledge the concerns and issues raised in the report regarding council tax collection and enforcement practices. The Government’s recent consultation on improving and modernising council tax administration was intended to make the system fairer for taxpayers by improving how council tax is collected and enforced. This included seeking views on the time before the full became liable and suggestions on other ways for councils to support vulnerable people in council tax debt before moving to formal enforcement.

The Government’s response to the consultation will set out details on any policy recommendations and will be published in due course.