25 June 2004
English local authorities collected an extra £15m in council tax last year, but the rate of improvement slowed, leading to claims from private sector analysts that the government has adopted a 'blinkered' approach to non-payment.
Figures released by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on June 21 show that councils had collected £15.99bn in council taxes by the end of March 2004 – around 96% of the £16.57bn collectable and a rise of 0.1% on 2003.
But that rise compares unfavourably with a 0.3% leap in collection rates between 2002 and 2003 and despite an initiative involving the ODPM and the Local Government Association, targeting councils with poor collection rates.
Peter Buckle, PricewaterhouseCoopers' head of income management, said progress 'may stop' unless councils look towards private sector best practices to improve collection rates.
'Unlike businesses, councils have to be particularly careful how they handle social and economic factors, but differentiating between those who can't pay and those who won't applies to debt collection across the board,' he said.
PFjun2004
