Latest news with #CitizensAdvice
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Energy Debt with Iona Bain
Here are some handy links with more information on managing your energy debt:Here, external is a link to Citizens Advice where you can find a list of grants that are available from different energy providers. Here, external is a link to a USwitch guide on how to read you energy bill, including where to find the amount of energy you've used.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Huge rise in unpaid council tax in Wales as thousands brought to court
Huge rise in unpaid council tax in Wales as thousands brought to court They have more than trebled in a decade and has impacted council services Swansea Council had the highest level of arrears and outstanding council tax in Wales at the close of 2024-25 - £17 million and £26.3 million respectively (Image: John Myers ) Council tax arrears in Wales have more than tripled over the last decade and now exceed £160 million. When householders miss council tax payments they are in arrears. As well as the stress this can cause, it's money owed to 22 local authorities for a range of services like adult social care, kerbside waste collection and maintaining parks. At the close of 2014-15, arrears stood at £47.9 million in Wales. At the end of the 2024-25 financial year they had shot up to £160.2 million, according to newly-published Welsh Government data. Figures are also collected on outstanding council tax. A Welsh Government spokeswoman said this consisted of missed "in-year" payments as well as arrears for earlier years. The running total for outstanding council tax at the end of 2024-25 was £263 million in Wales - again more than triple the figure of £83.9 million a decade previously. Local authorities set their level of council tax every year and it has been rising. There are various discounts and reductions, for example if you are disabled, live in a low-income household or live alone. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Council tax bills include a police precept, which is set by police and crime commissioners subject to approval by police and crime panels. These have been increasing too. The bills can also comprise a community council precept depending on where you live. Consumer charity Citizens Advice describes council tax as a priority debt which should be addressed before debts like credit cards. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), which represents councils, said people struggling to pay their council tax should contact their local authority straight away. Article continues below Swansea Council had the highest level of arrears and outstanding council tax in Wales at the close of 2024-25 - £17 million and £26.3 million respectively, to the nearest decimal place. It also wrote off the highest amount of arrears - £1.4 million. Also at the high end were Gwynedd Council's arrears, at £13.4 million. Its outstanding council tax was £21.6 million. Cardiff Council's arrears were £13.3 million and its outstanding council tax £26.1 million. Larger, more populated councils like Swansea and Cardiff are likely to have higher overall arrears but this may not be the case in terms of arrears per household. Swansea Council said it was fifth highest in Wales by a per household measure. Asked about its arrears, a Swansea Council spokesman said: "The figures quoted are a snapshot in time and in the longer term we collect almost all of what is owed. We intentionally take a more progressive approach to debt recovery than other councils and give people more time to get out of arrears, which helps them prevent falling into higher levels of debt. This is proving to be a very effective strategy and we recovered over £13 million of debt last year. However, we will use court action to recover debt whenever we have to." He added: "We accept that in the current cost of living crisis, the collection of council tax may be slower that we would like in some cases. But we will continue to pursue the debt until it is either paid, or all appropriate avenues of recovery currently available to us have been exhausted." Swansea Council and Carmarthenshire Council talk more about their actions and strategies below. Another way of assessing council tax collection is by looking at collection rates. In Wales, 95.6% of total council tax set by local authorities was collected in 2024-25, but it varied from area to area. Neath Port Talbot Council topped the collection rate with 97.7%, Gwynedd's figure of 92.9% was the lowest, while Swansea's was 94.5%. A decade ago council tax collection rates averaged 97.2% in Wales, 1.6% higher than currently. Major shocks such as the Covid pandemic, the energy price spike partly caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and wider inflationary pressures have significantly affected people's household finances since then, although wages have also increased. Although collection rates have only dropped 1.6% during a period when arrears have more than tripled, council tax has soared. In 2024-25, the total council tax set by the 22 authorities was £2.33 billion compared to £1.28 billion 10 years previously - a rise of 82%, although again it varies from council to council. And, if you collect a lower proportion of a much bigger figure, the resulting number will be pretty large. The 82% increase over the decade doesn't mean an average annual council tax rise of 8.2% because each increase is embedded into that year's council tax total and every year after. So the next year's increase is based on a new, larger amount. The WLGA said local authorities planned for a certain level of council tax non-collection each year as well as taking into account discounts and reductions available to some households. Swansea Council said it actually collected more last year than it initially assumed it would. Asked how councils made up for the lost council tax revenue, the WLGA said it was a mixture of service cuts and reduced financial resilience. The WLGA said it advocated a reform of council tax - which is a tax on domestic property - including revaluing properties and making the system more progressive. This is likely to happen with the passing of the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act last year, although there will be losers as well as winners. "The current system is based on outdated property values from 2003 and doesn't reflect the real housing market today," said a WLGA spokesman. "We support the aim to make council tax more progressive, so that what people pay is more closely linked to what their homes are actually worth. We want any changes to be carefully planned, involve local communities, and come with protections for households who may face higher bills as a result." Last year's legislation allows for property re-evaluations every five years in Wales, starting from 2028. The Welsh Government has said it sought to share the burden more evenly rather than raising more taxation. Asked about the latest council tax arrears figures, a Welsh Government spokeswoman pointed out the still relatively high collection rates in Wales, and added that its council tax reduction scheme provided around £244 million of support for nearly 260,000 low income and vulnerable households. She added: "Many families are still feeling the impacts of a challenging economic position in recent years." Councils get the bulk of their funding from the Welsh Government, via an annual settlement called the revenue support grant and a share of business rates, not council tax. For example council tax bills in Swansea came to £169 million in 2024-25, according to the Welsh Government data. Although the council didn't budget to collect all of this, the £169 million was to help fund day-to-day expenditure of £590.8 million. As an aside a council's gross budget, which includes rents, fees and other specific grants, is a lot higher. Councils say they face growing financial pressures, such as greater demand and complexity in social care coupled with an ageing population, rising education costs and more demand for housing, and that increases in central Government funding haven't been keeping pace. Meanwhile, proposals to cut services such as libraries or increase car parking charges to avoid higher council tax hikes are politically awkward for councillors. Council tax helps fund key services (Image: Getty Images ) No-one knows if council tax levels will see another 82% rise in a decade's time. The early signs aren't promising for those struggling to pay as the average increase across Wales this financial year, which began on April 1, was 7.2% - the highest uplift since 2003. If you are struggling to pay council tax, the Welsh Government's advice is to contact its advice services through Advice Link Cymru and check whether help is available. The WLGA urged people to contact their council immediately. Asked if it would it be fair to assume that arrears would keep rising the more council tax went up, the WLGA said: "It may certainly be a factor which is why we push for fair and sustainable funding from the Welsh Government." The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Swansea Council and Carmarthenshire Council questions about its arrears and council tax collection. According to Welsh Government data, arrears in Swansea were £17 million at the end of 2024-25. Council tax ranged from £1,345.43p to £4,709 across property bands A to I in that year. - Why do you think Swansea Council has the highest council tax arrears in Wales? The figures quoted are a snapshot in time and in the longer term we collect a high percentage of what is owed, said Swansea Council. As one of the biggest local authorities in Wales with higher-than-average levels of poverty in some of our communities, it is inevitable that council tax arrears will be higher than in other areas of the country. In the current cost of living crisis not everyone can pay their council tax immediately. Where we have evidence of hardship, we can allow more time to pay whilst retaining the ability to collect much needed income the authority can use to provide essential services. - When you set the council tax base each year do you factor in a certain level of arrears, and if so is are the actual arrears higher than expected? Every local authority assumes an initial collection rate below 100%. In 2023-24 we collected £2.5 million more than our initial assumption and in 2024-2025 we expect to collect £2 million more. A council spokesman said the figure it expected to collect, rather than the total amount, helped the council set its budget. The surpluses, he said, were due to some historic arrears being recouped in these years. - What should somebody who is getting into arrears do, and what support is out there? We always encourage people to contact us as soon as they find themselves in difficulty. We want to help people with financial problems so that they can agree ways to pay what they owe. We can signpost them to debt support and our benefits teams to ensure they are getting any benefits or council tax reductions to which they are entitled. However, we will take court action where necessary. - What action does the council take to recoup arrears, and does this involve prosecutions sometimes? See above - our aim is always to agree a plan for the debt to be cleared. Anyone who falls behind in payments is issued with reminders. The most important thing is that people talk to us so that we can reach an agreement. Court action is always a last resort after other approaches have not worked. - If prosecutions do take place, can you provide numbers? Overall, in 2023-24 and 2024-25, 20,470 summonses were issued. Of these, 3,400 cases were not progressed because acceptable payment arrangements were agreed or the debt was paid in full. In the remaining cases liability orders were granted by magistrates. These orders give a council permission to collect the debt. - How does the council offset the lost income from arrears or does it mean more savings or income-raising measures have to be implemented? No, we don't need to make more savings or take more income-raising measures. As noted in question 2, our budgets take into account the expectation that 100% of council tax will not be collected in its first year, but overall about 99% of it will be collected over time. We only write off debt in special circumstances when, for example, the taxpayer has passed away with no estate or in cases like bankruptcy where the cost of continuing to pursue payments are higher than the likely income expected. - Council tax goes up everywhere, and in Swansea the increase hasn't been as high as some councils of late, but do you think arrears will keep rising the more it does go up? The council works hard to keep council tax rises as low as possible because those on low or fixed incomes are most likely to be affected by them. However, we strongly encourage people who are struggling to pay their bills to get in touch with us as quickly as possible so we can help them reduce the risk of non-payment. Carmarthenshire Council also responded to questions about arrears and council tax collection. Its arrears stood at £12.3 million at the end of 2024-25. Council tax ranged from £1,345.43p to £4,709 across property bands A to I in that year. - What does Carmarthenshire Council do to support people who are struggling to pay their council tax? We offer a wide range of support. We have a personal budgeting officer who works with individuals facing financial difficulty, helping to establish affordable and sustainable payment plans for council tax arrears. Our teams carry out targeted outreach to residents identified as potentially struggling based on their engagement or payment history. Our revenues team is part of the council's tackling poverty forum, working with third sector partners including foodbanks and debt charities to signpost residents to appropriate support. - What does Carmarthenshire Council do to recoup arrears? We follow standard council tax enforcement and regulatory processes, including issuing reminders and summons where necessary, applying for liability orders via the courts for non-engaging residents, and using methods such as attachment to benefits, attachment to earnings, and referral to enforcement agents in cases where payment is not forthcoming. Our approach is always to encourage engagement first and enforcement is used only when other options have been exhausted. Article continues below - Is Carmarthenshire Council expecting increased arrears in 2025-26 given the 8.9% council tax rise? At present, we have not adjusted our council tax collection rate assumptions for 2025-26.
South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Citizens Advice says it helps someone with a disability aid complaint every hour
The charity said it helped someone with a complaint about a disability aid 'every hour', with 48% of all complaints relating specifically to mobility vehicles. Faulty goods made up more than two-thirds (69%) of disability aid issues reported to the charity's consumer service, including products that were unsafe, of poor quality, broken shortly after purchase, or never worked to begin with. The advisory service said it had dealt with cases where people were stranded over their bath, stuck on the top floor of their house waiting for delayed repairs to a stairlift, or left in pain from using products which did not meet their needs. In total, 70% of all complaints were specifically about aids designed to help people with mobility, including – as well as mobility scooters – stairlifts (12%) and mobility and bath aids (10%). A UK-wide survey by the charity found that around one in seven people (7.4 million) bought an aid for themselves or someone else in the last year. It warned that people buying disability aids experienced problems at every point of the process, from confusing and technical product information and poor customer service to poor quality items and a lack of warranty support. Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: 'Too often, disabled people are being failed by a disability aids market that isn't meeting their needs – and instead of offering support, it's creating new barriers. 'Problems like faulty products and poor service don't just leave people out of pocket, they can leave them literally stranded or unable to carry out even the most basic tasks. Having to battle to resolve problems only makes this worse. 'In this growing market, it's vital consumers are armed with the correct information before making a purchase. We urge people to do their research, know their rights and stay safe when buying – and remember we're here to help.' John Herriman, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: 'These findings are deeply concerning and highlight just how vital effective consumer education is for disabled people to help ensure accessibility and inclusion. 'Alongside enforcement, we need to ensure disabled consumers are empowered with the right information to make informed choices, recognise poor practice, and know where to turn for help. 'CTSI is committed to working with partners and the Approved Code Scheme provider – the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) – to raise awareness, and support education efforts to protect all consumers, and ensure businesses are held to the standards they should be meeting.'
North Wales Chronicle
3 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Citizens Advice says it helps someone with a disability aid complaint every hour
The charity said it helped someone with a complaint about a disability aid 'every hour', with 48% of all complaints relating specifically to mobility vehicles. Faulty goods made up more than two-thirds (69%) of disability aid issues reported to the charity's consumer service, including products that were unsafe, of poor quality, broken shortly after purchase, or never worked to begin with. The advisory service said it had dealt with cases where people were stranded over their bath, stuck on the top floor of their house waiting for delayed repairs to a stairlift, or left in pain from using products which did not meet their needs. In total, 70% of all complaints were specifically about aids designed to help people with mobility, including – as well as mobility scooters – stairlifts (12%) and mobility and bath aids (10%). A UK-wide survey by the charity found that around one in seven people (7.4 million) bought an aid for themselves or someone else in the last year. It warned that people buying disability aids experienced problems at every point of the process, from confusing and technical product information and poor customer service to poor quality items and a lack of warranty support. Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: 'Too often, disabled people are being failed by a disability aids market that isn't meeting their needs – and instead of offering support, it's creating new barriers. 'Problems like faulty products and poor service don't just leave people out of pocket, they can leave them literally stranded or unable to carry out even the most basic tasks. Having to battle to resolve problems only makes this worse. 'In this growing market, it's vital consumers are armed with the correct information before making a purchase. We urge people to do their research, know their rights and stay safe when buying – and remember we're here to help.' John Herriman, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: 'These findings are deeply concerning and highlight just how vital effective consumer education is for disabled people to help ensure accessibility and inclusion. 'Alongside enforcement, we need to ensure disabled consumers are empowered with the right information to make informed choices, recognise poor practice, and know where to turn for help. 'CTSI is committed to working with partners and the Approved Code Scheme provider – the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) – to raise awareness, and support education efforts to protect all consumers, and ensure businesses are held to the standards they should be meeting.'
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Business
- Leader Live
Citizens Advice says it helps someone with a disability aid complaint every hour
The charity said it helped someone with a complaint about a disability aid 'every hour', with 48% of all complaints relating specifically to mobility vehicles. Faulty goods made up more than two-thirds (69%) of disability aid issues reported to the charity's consumer service, including products that were unsafe, of poor quality, broken shortly after purchase, or never worked to begin with. The advisory service said it had dealt with cases where people were stranded over their bath, stuck on the top floor of their house waiting for delayed repairs to a stairlift, or left in pain from using products which did not meet their needs. In total, 70% of all complaints were specifically about aids designed to help people with mobility, including – as well as mobility scooters – stairlifts (12%) and mobility and bath aids (10%). A UK-wide survey by the charity found that around one in seven people (7.4 million) bought an aid for themselves or someone else in the last year. It warned that people buying disability aids experienced problems at every point of the process, from confusing and technical product information and poor customer service to poor quality items and a lack of warranty support. Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: 'Too often, disabled people are being failed by a disability aids market that isn't meeting their needs – and instead of offering support, it's creating new barriers. 'Problems like faulty products and poor service don't just leave people out of pocket, they can leave them literally stranded or unable to carry out even the most basic tasks. Having to battle to resolve problems only makes this worse. 'In this growing market, it's vital consumers are armed with the correct information before making a purchase. We urge people to do their research, know their rights and stay safe when buying – and remember we're here to help.' John Herriman, chief executive at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), said: 'These findings are deeply concerning and highlight just how vital effective consumer education is for disabled people to help ensure accessibility and inclusion. 'Alongside enforcement, we need to ensure disabled consumers are empowered with the right information to make informed choices, recognise poor practice, and know where to turn for help. 'CTSI is committed to working with partners and the Approved Code Scheme provider – the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) – to raise awareness, and support education efforts to protect all consumers, and ensure businesses are held to the standards they should be meeting.'
