28 July 2006
Councils in England and Wales are more successful at collecting council tax than their counterparts in Scotland, a study has revealed.
Researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, who carried out the study on behalf of the Scottish Executive, found that among Scotland's 32 councils the overall average is almost four percentage points lower than south of the border.
While poverty and deprivation were identified as one of the main reasons for council tax debts in Scotland, the study suggests that some authorities did not give a high enough priority to collecting arrears.
'All councils generally seek to maximise their collection rates, but the level of political support and management focus has varied,' the report states.
Scottish council tax collection has improved in recent years, rising from just over 88% in 1999/2000 to almost 92.7% in 2004/05, the latest figures available to the researchers. The figure for England is 96.6%.
According to the Heriot-Watt researchers, the collection tax recovery mechanisms and sanctions available to Scottish local authorities are generally weaker than those in England.
One of the main problems identified by the study is the inclusion of Scottish Water charges in council tax bills. Water and sewerage charges are not eligible for benefit and this can often lead to households on benefits having arrears.
The report points out that the regressive nature of council tax and water charges are reflected in the findings that non-payment is associated with low income.
However, it emphasises that the large statistical difference of four percentage points between Scotland and England 'probably reflects structural differences as well as administrative and cultural factors'.
Other differences given include a lack of general power to seize goods within the home and a lack of power to jail deliberate non-payers, available as an ultimate sanction in the rest of the UK.
The report states: 'Some difference in the use of powers reflects a general reluctance in Scotland to criminalise non-payers.
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