Local authorities also asked for thousands of people’s benefits to be reduced to clear arrears
Local authorities in England referred at least 280,000 households to bailiffs over council tax debt in the first year of the pandemic, and asked for more than 115,000 people to have their benefits deducted to clear their arrears, the Observer can reveal.
Councils adopted widely differing approaches to council tax arrears as the economy froze and unemployment rose during 2020-21, with some councils suspending all debt-recovery action while others continued to pursue thousands of households.