Bucks Council falls just short of tax collection target despite rise in bailiff use

The authority raised 84.1 per cent of council tax due against a target of 84.2 per cent, according to the figures for quarter three 2024/25.

Its update read: “Council tax collection is slightly below target, by 0.1 percentage points, as a result of a higher proportion of households paying over a 12-month period rather than 10-months.”

Bucks Council said this represented an improvement of 0.7 per cent compared with quarter two when the collection rate was 56.1 per cent, compared to a target of 56.9 per cent.

In a statement, it said: “This can be attributed to deploying resources to clear the previously noted processing backlog.”

Collection rates are expected to recover by the end of quarter four following the deployment of ‘more resources’, the council said in the update presented to cabinet on Tuesday.

The authority’s update comes after it was revealed in November that it has increasingly used bailiffs to recover council tax debts during the cost-of-living crisis.

The council passed 13,673 cases to bailiffs between 2023 and 2024, a rise of 42 per cent on the 9,568 during the previous year.

According to data, released under freedom of information laws, last year £3.5 million was recovered by bailiffs, compared to £1.7 million in 2022/23.

Last year, a charity warned against bailiffs targeting vulnerable people, but the council has stressed it has a ‘legal duty’ to collect council tax to pay for services.