MPs led by borough politician demand change on how councils collect debts

Fears are growing that the plight of struggling families will worsen under the impact of the coronavirus lockdown, which has sparked a massive rise in council tax arrears and 3.1 million claims for Universal Credit.

The letter to the Chancellor, led by Ms Fovargue and former Treasury Select Committee chair Baroness Nicky Morgan with support from more than 50 other parliamentarians, brands the growing tendency for councils to rely on bailiffs to collect tax arrears as "an unfair approach to debt collection", which "represents poor value for money for the taxpayer, causing immense stress and anxiety in the process".

Ms Fovargue said: "Heavy-handed debt collection practices, such as demands for all arrears to be paid in one go, or bailiffs threatening to seize goods if people don’t pay up, just make things worse for everybody.

“The Government should introduce a Debt Management Bill to scrap outdated regulations so that councils and central government departments have the tools to collect debt fairly, without worsening the situations of those in debt.”