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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department provides to local billing authorities on (a) the length of time that council taxpayers should be given to pay and (b) when council tax bills are considered to be in arrears.

This government has recently consulted on modernising and improving the administration of council tax. This included seeking views on the current processes in place to recover council tax. We are currently reviewing all responses to the consultation and will publish our response in due course.

A person is considered to be in arrears from the day they have missed a payment. Councils cannot carry out formal enforcement action until after they have issued a reminder and then acquired a liability order confirming the amount owed.