A charity has warned a spike in council tax debt for people on low incomes could make a difficult Winter even harder.
Rising energy bills, high inflation and looming tax rises will be a triple whammy for many hard-pressed Scots in 2022.
Citizens Advice Scotland, which advises folk with financial problems, fears council tax arrears may also go up.
They estimate 1,422 people sought their help in 2020/21, the first year of the pandemic, with complex debt issues including the council tax.
In that year alone they owed a cumulative £4.1m to their local authorities.
The average debt was £2,925 – almost three times the average council tax bill of £1,198.
In the first two quarters of 2021/22, the total debt stood at over £3.5m - an average of £3,513.
Over the two years this means CAS clients have racked up over £7.6m in council tax debt during the pandemic.
CAS Financial Health spokesperson Myles Fitt said:
“This winter is set to be really challenging for so many families across Scotland. The combination of rising energy bills, the impact on incomes from the end of furlough and the £20 weekly reduction in Universal Credit has created a perfect financial storm for the thousands of households who were already experiencing money problems or who were just managing to get by.
“Council tax debt is the biggest debt issue the Citizens Advice network in Scotland sees, and people racked up millions of pounds in arrears during the pandemic. Worryingly, early data for 2021/22 suggests this problem is growing – and that’s before the perfect storm of rising costs and falling incomes hit people.
“Our advice is completely free and people should understand that they should never have to pay to receive debt advice. We are here to help with debt or money worries and will never charge you for that help.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said:
“Average Council Tax bills across Scotland are lower than those in the other nations of the UK. Council Tax brings important administrative and financial accountability to each local authority and is a vital element of funding local public services.
“Councils have a range of actions they can choose to take if someone is unable to pay their council tax. These include discussing and agreeing payment plans.
“The Council Tax Reduction Scheme exists to prevent people falling into council tax debt. People having difficulty in meeting their council tax payments should contact their local authority to see if they are eligible for a reduction which can be backdated by up to 6 months.
“Currently over 475,000 households receive some level of Council Tax Reduction. A reduction may be up to 100 per cent, and on average recipients save over £750 a year.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
