MSPs urged to drop toxic council tax debt in crunch vote
MSPs could write off millions of pounds of ‘unpayable’ Council Tax debt by voting for changes proposed by Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer today.
If passed, Ross’s amendment to the Housing Bill would end the current situation where Council Tax debts in Scotland are chased for almost four times longer than in England before they are written off.
Scottish Council Tax debt is currently only written off after twenty years, despite the equivalent rule in England being six years.
Anti-poverty campaigners including Aberlour say that current council and government debt collectors “trap families in a cycle of poverty, through seized benefits, missed payments, new loans and extortionate interest.”
Those arguing for a reduction in the time limit point out that if a family has been unable to pay off their debts after five years of enforcement action being taken against them, continuing to chase them through the courts is unlikely to recover the money but will likely push them deeper into crisis.
Ross said:
“The same councils who provide free school lunches to support children in poverty are sending sheriff officers to their home after school, all to chase debts they know these families cannot afford to pay off.
“This system leaves families trapped in cycles of poverty and financial crisis. They fear every knock on their door. It doesn't even work for councils, who go to huge expense to chase people for money they don't have.
“MSPs can break that cycle of poverty this afternoon and help those stuck with unpayable debts to get their lives back on track.
“The First Minister’s top priority is eradicating child poverty. He knows it makes no sense for Scotland to pile more misery onto families by pursuing these toxic debts for four times longer than England.
“I’m sure he also knows that this historic debt is largely unpayable, but the Scottish Government is still holding back on supporting my proposals. I will do everything I can to work with Ministers and councils to make it a reality.
“Every day that we keep these cruel rules in place is another day of fear and worry for some of Scotland's most vulnerable families.”