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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have issued any guidance on the circumstances in which an individual should be imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

In June 2013, DCLG issued ‘Guidance to Local Councils on Good Practice in the Collection of Council Tax Arrears’. The document (attached) provides guidance to local authorities on enforcement and clearly sets out the Government’s position. It is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/210478/Guidance_on_enforcement_of_CT_arrears.pdf

Collection and enforcement of unpaid council tax is a matter for local authorities. They are best placed to consider the circumstances of the taxpayer who has fallen into arrears and to decide what action to take.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, how many cases of individuals imprisoned for defaulting on their council tax were appealed to the High Court, and in how many of those cases the appeals were upheld.

Lord Faulks

Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

Notes:

These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.

Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.

Notes:

These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, what was the estimated cost to the public purse of people being imprisoned for defaulting on payment of their council tax.

Lord Faulks

This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The department routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison, and in summary form the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. These can be found on Gov.uk.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Harris of Haringey on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, for each of the last three years, in how many instances people have been imprisoned for defaulting on payment of their council tax.

Lord Faulks

Data showing how many people were imprisoned for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014 are presented in the table below:

Notes:

These data are sourced from the Libra Management Information System (MIS). As such this data set is not subject to the same levels of quality assurance as national statistics

In extracting this data only offences of complaint for council tax committal application have been included where the court hearing date occurred within each year reported (i.e. between 1 January and 31 December).

It should also be noted that, although committals to prison are reported as occurring within a particular financial year, the non-payment of council tax itself may relate to a previous financial year or even a period covering more than one financial year.

Committal to prison for non-payment of council tax can be challenged through a judicial review in the High Court. The table below shows the number of judicial reviews relating to imprisonment for non-payment of council tax in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the outcomes.

Notes:

These data were obtained from a manual check of judicial reviews carried out specifically to answer this question.