Treasury minister admits 5% council tax hikes are 'baked in' for the next THREE YEARS - as it emerges struggling families are already £6.6BILLION in arrears

Daily Mail​

a day ago

A Cabinet minister has admitted 5 per cent council tax rises are 'baked in' for the next three years - as it emerged struggling families are already billions of pounds in arrears.
Treasury Chief Secretary Darren Jones confirmed that the government is assuming local authorities will impose the maximum increases permitted.
The 4.99 per cent cap is made up of 2.99 per cent for general spending and a 2 per cent adult social care precept.
It means the average Band D property faces an extra £395 in council tax in 2028-29 compared to this year.
Experts have warned that council tax bills are set to rise at their fastest rate for two decades.
Official figures released today showed council tax arrears spiked by £642million last year to top £6.6billion.
Treasury Chief Secretary Darren Jones confirmed that the government is assuming local authorities will impose the maximum increases permitted
That represents a rise of more than 80 per cent since before the pandemic.
Local authorities recouped £1billion of the historic debt during the year, but racked up another £1.9 billion of uncollected in-year debt.
Some £250million of 'uncollectable' council tax was written off in 2024-25, according to the Ministry for Housing and Local Government.
Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice think-tank suggested nearly 1.8million adults are now in arrears.
Those individuals are three times more likely to be in poor health as the wider population, and twice as likely to have experienced negative life events such as job loss or bereavement, the think-tank said.
Matthew Greenwood, Head of Debt at the CSJ, said: 'With local government on its knees and council tax arrears at record highs, those people who don't pay their council tax even though they have the money should face the full force of the law. But our report shows that the vast majority of those in arrears are not refusing to pay – they're simply unable to, often due to poor health, job loss or other negative life shocks.
'Under the current rules, missing just one payment can make someone liable for the entire year's bill within weeks, triggering bailiff action and, in some cases, threat of imprisonment. It's an outdated, punitive system that fails to distinguish between those who won't pay and those who genuinely can't.
'The Government must now deliver on its pledge to end the unfairness in council tax collection and help put millions on a path to repaying their bills.'
Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee today, Mr Jones was asked by chair Meg Hillier whether the government was 'baking in the 5 per cent' increases in council tax for the spending review period.
He replied: 'We are doing that, yes.'