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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate she has made of the (a) change in amount and number of council tax arrears since 2024-25 and (b) number of arrears referred for enforcement.

The government is working to fix the foundations of local government so that it is fit, legal and decent. We will work with local authorities to ensure that the administration of council tax is efficient for councils and fair to taxpayers.

At 31 March 2026, the total amount of council tax still outstanding amounted to £7.4 billion. This is an increase of £782 million over the figure at the end of 2024-25. The Department does not collect data on the number of individual council tax arrears cases. Collection and enforcement of council tax is a matter for local authorities and the government has not historically collected data on the number of arrears referred for enforcement.

The government has consulted on Modernising and Improving the Administration of Council Tax, to ensure that residents have appropriate time and support to manage arrears. For instance, this government will extend the time before households lose the right to pay in instalments to at least 63 days and ensure these households receive at least 2 notices of this. We will also regularise 12-month billing to smooth monthly payments so it reflects most household bills and lessens the individual monthly payment to aid household budgeting.

The government annually publishes the Collection rates for Council Tax which includes data on arrears outstanding at the end of each financial year. The 2025-26 data can be found here.