2 February 2010
Soaring council tax under Labour leads to bailiffs and court actions in Reading.
Reading West Parliamentary Candidate, Alok Sharma, and Reading East MP, Rob Wilson, expressed their concern this week at new figures which have revealed the soaring use of court orders and bailiffs to collect council tax. Council tax bills have more than doubled across the country under Labour. In Reading, bills have risen by 108 per cent since 1997 thanks to Labour Ministers and a Labour-run Council.
Rob Wilson said, “Thanks to Gordon Brown and our Labour-run Council doubling council tax bills, a record number of families in my constituency are struggling to pay their bills. When you realise that this Government has made so many families worse off in this recession, the last thing they needed was higher taxes. That’s why I am pleased we will ensure that there is no Council Tax increase for at least two years. Where there are Conservative Councils many are cutting Council Tax! Many more people now face the threat of menacing bailiffs knocking at their door – this is a crisis of Labour’s making.”
Alok Sharma added, “The fact that Labour Ministers have blocked a council tax freeze for England shows how out of touch Gordon Brown is with the plight of hard-working families and pensioners. Only a Conservative Government will work with local councils to help fund a council tax freeze and bring real help to low and middle income families. Only Conservatives can deliver the change our country needs.”
Reading West Parliamentary Candidate, Alok Sharma, and Reading East MP, Rob Wilson, expressed their concern this week at new figures which have revealed the soaring use of court orders and bailiffs to collect council tax. Council tax bills have more than doubled across the country under Labour. In Reading, bills have risen by 108 per cent since 1997 thanks to Labour Ministers and a Labour-run Council.
- New statistics show that 1.4 million households had bailiffs knocking at their door for unpaid council tax last year – up nearly 70 per cent since 1997. In Reading the figure was 5,255 – the highest in Berkshire.
- Another 1,517 people were made bankrupt by the courts for their council tax debts.
- Whitehall guidance issued by John Prescott in 2004 encourages the use of bailiffs by town halls. It even recommends that in-house town hall bailiffs remove the official council branding from their bailiff demands.
- New official figures also reveal that that a record 3.1 million households are now in severe council tax difficulties and face liability orders for unpaid council tax. Indeed, in Reading 42,763 liability orders have been issued. These orders allow councils to seize money from wage packets/benefits or commence bailiff proceedings.
- Conservatives have pledged to work with councils to freeze council tax bills in England and provide additional central funding to keep bills down for the next two years. Scotland has already benefited from a council tax freeze, making bills almost £300 a year less on a comparable home north of the border. Labour Ministers have ruled out introducing such a policy in England.
Rob Wilson said, “Thanks to Gordon Brown and our Labour-run Council doubling council tax bills, a record number of families in my constituency are struggling to pay their bills. When you realise that this Government has made so many families worse off in this recession, the last thing they needed was higher taxes. That’s why I am pleased we will ensure that there is no Council Tax increase for at least two years. Where there are Conservative Councils many are cutting Council Tax! Many more people now face the threat of menacing bailiffs knocking at their door – this is a crisis of Labour’s making.”
Alok Sharma added, “The fact that Labour Ministers have blocked a council tax freeze for England shows how out of touch Gordon Brown is with the plight of hard-working families and pensioners. Only a Conservative Government will work with local councils to help fund a council tax freeze and bring real help to low and middle income families. Only Conservatives can deliver the change our country needs.”
