Wales has £86 million in unpaid council taxes, figures reveal

Welsh government figures have shown that Wales had an £86 million black hole of unpaid council tax, at the end of the financial year.

The data found that Merthyr Tydfil had the highest amount of outstanding bills , with an average £131 per chargeable household, while Vale of Glamorgan had the lowest at £33.

In 2015-16, a total of 97.2 per cent of council tax was collected in Wales, the highest collection rate since the introduction of council tax.

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request submitted by the Welsh Conservatives showed that 20 of 22 local authorities had collectively issued 110,000 court summons for unpaid council tax. It also identified around 52,000 incidences where bailiff letters were sent and visits were made.

However, a spokeswoman for the Welsh Government said council tax in Wales was on average £156 lower than in England.

She commented: ”Our Council Tax Reduction Scheme also provides financial assistance to more than 300,000 households and of these almost 200,000 pay no council tax at all.

"However we recognise circumstances continue to be challenging for households across Wales and encourage local authorities to deal sensitively with those experiencing hardship."