COUNCIL chiefs have urged Worcester residents struggling to make ends meet to seek help after a charity revealed £2.4million in council tax hasn’t been paid.
Newly-released official figures released by National Debtline have revealed the sum and the charity warned many residents were not receiving the free advice they needed to deal with council tax and other debts.
But Worcester City Council hit back at the comments and said the figure quoted was the overall figure of unpaid council tax since 2000.
Guildhall chiefs pointed to the ways the authority helps local residents.
The figures, included in newly-published data published by the Department for Communities and Local Government, show Worcester residents owed £2.4 million in unpaid council tax bills in March 2016, down from £2.5million in 2015.
National Debtline, the free advice service run by the Money Advice Trust, said it received around 290 calls each year from residents in Worcester seeking advice on how to resolve their debt problems.
The charity has warned the number could increase with higher Council Tax bills adding to the pressure for many households who already have stretched budgets.
Joanna Elson OBE, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, said: “The level of unpaid council tax in Worcester remains a concern.
“With people in the area now paying 3.5 per cent more in council tax than they were this time last year, there is a risk that residents who are already behind will find it even more difficult to resolve their financial difficulty.
“Council tax is vital in funding the essential local services that we all rely on, and local authorities are already under significant financial pressure – so it is in everyone’s interests that arrears are repaid.
“We would urge all councils to do everything they can to ensure that residents in difficulty are signposted to free advice that will help them get back on track.”
National Debtline offers free, independent and confidential advice 24 hours a day online at www.nationaldebtline.org or by calling 0808 808 4000, Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm, Saturday 9.30am to 1pm.
A Worcester City Council spokesman said: “Some of the council tax debt relates to unpaid bills going back up to 16 years – the £2.4million figure is not simply unpaid bills from last year.
“Many low income households in Worcester qualify for discounts on their council tax bills or even an exemption from paying it at all.
“If people do fall into arrears we always encourage them to contact us on 01905 722233 so that we can help by arranging for them to pay the outstanding amount in affordable instalments.”
