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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of giving people who have missed a single council tax payment more than seven days to pay before the remaining annual sum is made due in full.

Local councils are responsible for the collection and enforcement of council tax and have powers to agree alternative payment plans at any point in the collection process. The government’s guidance on council tax collection makes clear that councils are expected to be sympathetic to those in financial hardship and willing to negotiate payments at any point in the process. The government keeps all council tax policies under review.

The government will publish a consultation in 2025 to consider options to improve council tax billing and wider council tax administration changes to support taxpayers.