1,500 people threatened with prison over the last five years for council tax arrears

^{23 March 2026}

One in twenty councils (5%) in England mention prison in the very first letter they send when people fall into council tax arrears, revealed by a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by StepChange Debt Charity. The FOI also finds that one in six councils have actively used the threat of prison as a tool to recover council tax debt since 2020. The charity says this is counterproductive, scaring people who cannot, rather than will not, pay, and potentially causes them to disengage from seeking help from their council.

StepChange has renewed its call for Government to scrap imprisonment for non-payment of council tax and for councils to take a more supportive approach to arrears in the absence of binding national collection standards. This comes as the charity’s new report into council tax collection uncovers a postcode lottery among local authorities collecting debt.

The report, based on a FOI request to every council in England and Wales, found that the council tax collection process remains inconsistent. Many councils lack clear standards and are quick to use threatening language including the looming possibility of enforcement action and imprisonment with those in arrears. The new report, Clear, Fair, Understandable?, found that:

• One in six responding councils (17%) have instigated prison proceedings against residents in arrears, with a total of 1,528 cases. The overwhelming majority of these cases were situated within ten council areas.
• Over a third of responding councils (36%) in England and Wales made direct reference to debt recovery or enforcement action in the first letter after a missed payment, which rises to one in two (50%) by the final letter.

The final sanction of imprisonment for non-payment of council tax is only for cases of “wilful refusal” or “culpable neglect,” and just four people have gone to prison for non-payment since 2020. A further 143 were given suspended sentences. Yet StepChange warns even the threat of imprisonment is causing harm and stands only to entrench financial difficulty and stigma around debt.

StepChange is calling for the Government to overhaul council tax collection regulations and introduce binding standards to remove the sanction of imprisonment and give people behind more time to access help like benefits advice and put in place affordable repayment plans.

Peter Tutton, Director of Policy, Research, and Public Affairs, said:

“It’s high time that the outdated prison sanction is removed from the council tax regulations at a central level, binding standards are introduced, and local authorities ensure their processes provide room for residents to repay without falling further into harm. Whilst the number of people committed to prison or given a suspended sentence for council tax non-payment is small – the looming implicit, or in some cases explicit threat, remains. As people struggle to manage the cost of living, and council tax bills continue to rise, the reality is more people will fall behind and – without intervention – be exposed to harmful collection practices.”

Luke*, a StepChange client, said of the council tax collection process:

“I received minimal contact from my council before they issued me with a liability order for my council tax arrears and threatened me with imprisonment if I did not comply. At the time, I had just been diagnosed with a chronic health condition and was going without food to be able to pay my bills.

“The amount that they wanted from me was completely unaffordable, but when I tried to negotiate, they doubled down on their threat to have me imprisoned. As a disabled person, it left me feeling incredibly vulnerable when all I wanted was to be treated fairly and with compassion.”

Notes to Editors

1. Clear, Fair and Understandable? draws on a Freedom of Information request to every council in England and Wales, requesting their first, second and final template letter to those in council tax arrears, and also how many cases of imprisonment proceedings councils in England have instigated. The acceptance rate for the request was four in five councils (78%). The full report can be viewed here.
2. The Scottish and Welsh Governments have removed the regulation around imprisonment for council tax non-payment.
3. The case study, full dataset and council tax template letters can be used by reaching out to the press office.
4. The total number of people committed to prison or given a suspended sentence can be found in the following Written Parliamentary Questions here and here.
5. StepChange’s 2024 report, Looking through the keyhole, analysed client experience of council tax collection.