Bailiffs Statistics Reveal Frightening Trend

The Money Advice Centre has been researching the use of Bailiffs. Local authorities across England and Wales have referred debts to bailiffs on 1.8 million occasions in the last 12 months. 

ABC - With benefits being cut or frozen people are struggling. Councils need to find money due to the large central government guts to their funding. These numbers are staggering.

Figures obtained by issuing Freedom of Information requests to all 374 local authorities in England and Wales that make clear the massive extent of bailiff use by local authorities. The Money Advice Centre and the ‘Stop the Knock Campaign’ are calling on local authorities to be more responsible in managing their debt collection.

Local authorities most commonly refer council tax arrears, business rate arrears, and parking fines to bailiffs for collection.

There is extreme variation across the 374 different local authorities in England and Wales as to how frequently bailiffs are called in. Birmingham City Council (the largest local authority in the UK) referred debts to bailiffs on 82,329 occasions in the last 12 months – equivalent to 17 per cent of total properties in Birmingham. The London Borough of Newham council referred 55,652 cases to bailiffs – equivalent to nearly half of the total properties under its authority.

Excessive bailiff use isn’t restricted to larger authorities, with Merthyr Tydfil Council referring 6,094 debts to bailiffs, equivalent to 22 per cent of the total properties under its authority.

Council tax arrears are the third most common debt type dealt with by National Debtline. In the first half of this year the service took over 20,000 calls for help with council tax, a record in its 23 year history and an increase of 61 per cent on five years ago, and 13 per cent over last year.

Joanna Elson OBE, Chief Executive of the Money Advice Trust, said:

“These figures make clear that something has to change. It is not economically or socially responsible for local authorities to continue to use bailiffs so frequently. Our experience through National Debtline shows us first-hand how bailiffs can deepen debt problems, rather than solve them.

“Local authorities seem to be assuming that anyone not paying debts is a ‘won’t pay’, rather than a ‘can’t pay’. In today’s economy, with real incomes having fallen consistently for many years, more and more people are falling into the ‘can’t pay’ bracket – sending the bailiffs in to collect these debts can be very destructive, both financially and psychologically. 

“This is a problem with a clear solution. The Local Government Association has supported a protocol, established by Citizens Advice, which makes clear how authorities should handle collection of council tax arrears. Authorities which have signed up to the protocol have maintained healthy collection rates. We firmly encourage all local authorities to consider their debt collection practices, especially following the abolition of national Council Tax Benefit and the introduction of localised Council Tax Support.” 

The top bailiff referrers in England and Wales by Local Authority 

Bailiff referrals in the last 12 months  - 

Bailiff referrals as a percentage of total properties

Local Authority Bailiff referals

1.8 million is a big number…

5,013 bailiff referrals every day

334 bailiff referrals every hour*

6 bailiff referrals every minute*

1 bailiff referral every ten seconds*

Nearly 4 times the number of bailiff referrals in 2012 than people immigrating to the UK

55 bailiff referrals for every branch of McDonalds around the world

1,801 bailiff referrals for every branch of Sainsburys in the UK

2.5 bailiff referrals for every new baby born in 2012

2 bailiff referrals for every person living in either Cyprus or Fiji

5.5 bailiff referrals for every person living in Iceland

1 bailiff referral for every person living in Northern Ireland

2,287 bailiff referrals for each monk in the Vatican city

2,815 bailiff referrals for every Member of Parliament

More bailiff referrals than UK eBook downloads of Fifty Shades of Grey

*Based on bailiff operating hours of 6am – 9pm

Some key policy points from the Good Practice Protocol for council tax collection:

•          Billing authorities should prioritise direct deduction from benefits or attachment of earnings in preference to using bailiffs. This avoids extra            debts being incurred by people who may already have substantial liabilities.
•          Consider the level of debt (inclusive of liability order fees) before bailiff action is taken. A key part of the recovery is treating each case on            its merits. Arrangements need to be affordable and sustainable while ensuring that the debt is paid off within a reasonable period.

Source: Money Advice Centre