by Myles Fitt, head of the Financial Health team at CAS.

This article was first published in the Herald on 16th May 2026.

May is a busy period for our Citizens Advice network in supporting people with council tax debt. This spike which advisers see every year is caused by two factors coming together: new council tax bills being issued in April and the speed of the debt recovery process. Miss a payment and within a matter of weeks a person can be held liable for the whole year’s bill and have funds taken from their bank account. 

Yet many of the people we advise on council tax debt struggle to meet payment due to lack of income and the need to prioritise other essential living costs. It begs the question of the recovery process – if someone is unable to meet a single payment then how on earth can they afford to pay for an entire year?

The current process is harsh. And it’s suffocatingly quick.

This is why the Government in Wales last year embarked on a review of council tax collection and recovery. It did so with two important values in mind. Making the process more person-centred while protecting council tax income for local authorities. 

The review engaged local government, advice providers, and anti-poverty charities amongst others. One of the highlights was the decision to give people in arrears more time between falling behind with one payment and legal debt recovery commencing. A minimum of sixty- three days. 

This is absolutely vital. It allows people time to get money advice and support from agencies such as their local CAB, obtain income maximisation checks, and get into position to pay their arrears whole or at least in part. This in turn increases the chances of local authorities receiving income they may not have otherwise received. 

In recent weeks, the UK government has announced it is following the lead in Wales. It is committing to a range of similarly positive measures to help people in council tax arrears in England while protecting the income for local authorities.

Scotland is the only country in the UK not making fundamental, progressive improvements to council tax collection and recovery (there is no council tax in Northern Ireland). 

Without action by the new Scottish Government, many people in Scotland on low incomes and tight budgets will continue to be damaged by a recovery process that doesn’t work for those who seek to pay but can’t. 

There is growing number of charities in agreement with Citizens Advice Scotland on the need for changes to council tax debt recovery among calls for wider public debt reform. 

Nobody wants the current situation where being in debt to a commercial company offers more protection and support than being in council tax debt.

Similar to our network, May will also be a busy period for the Scottish Government and Parliament. It has a track record in delivering legislation and policies on debt to help people in financial difficulty. It is time to extend this into council tax debt. It’s time to follow the lead of the Welsh and UK governments so that Scotland is not left behind.