At least 1.5 million people taken to court over unpaid council tax

New research suggests that at least 1.5 million people were taken to court over unpaid council tax debt last year.

The GMB revealed freedom of information replies from 200 local authorities across Britain showed that 1.4 million people had been summoned to court in the financial year 2024/25.

The union, which was discussing the results at its annual congress in Blackpool on Tuesday, warned the figure is likely to be higher as some councils did not respond.

Rachel Harrison, GMB national secretary, said: “These horrifying figures show our council tax system is completely broken.

“Not only is the banding system woefully out of date, but forcing cash-strapped councils to pursue one-and-a-half million people through the courts just to make ends meet can’t be the right way to do business.

“Austerity left deep scars on all our public services, which will last a generation or more.

“Meanwhile, the lack of authority funding often means low pay for the people we rely on to look after our loved ones, to take our rubbish, to keep our towns and cities running.

“To fix all this, we need more guaranteed central government funding, progress on council tax reform so the richest pay their share, and changes to business rates so that authorities get more to regenerate our high streets.”