Coventry City Council owed £27m in unpaid council tax

A city council is owed more than £27m in unpaid council tax, according to figures released in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.

More than 50,000 payments to Coventry City Council were outstanding as of the end of the last financial year, including some dating back to 2019.

The figures were released as part of research published by Accidental Claims Advice which showed England’s councils were owed £6bn in unpaid council tax as of March.

Coventry City Council said its arrears compared favourably to authorities of a similar size and demographic.

According to the research, £2m of the £27m was due five years ago, while the rest was from the last three years.

This included £12.3m that went uncollected from 25,000 accounts in the 2023/24 financial year.

The figures came after Coventry City Council agreed to £8m of cuts in an effort to balance its budget and protect frontline services.

A council spokesperson said the authority had seen an increase in council tax arrears over the Covid pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

They said the council had the 10th lowest level of arrears of the 36 metropolitan authorities in England.

They added the authority had a “robust” collection regime but at the same time provided support to the most financially vulnerable households.

“Coventry’s level of arrears when compared to similar authorities provides some indication that we are achieving an effective balance between tackling those who won’t pay but also supporting those who can’t pay,” they explained.