Birmingham City Council referrals to bailiffs over unpaid debts rise by 500%
Bailiffs were called in to recover unpaid council debts in England and Wales almost 20% more often last year, an investigation has found.
A Freedom of Information request by the BBC's File on 4 programme found Birmingham City Council, which revealed it could not balance its books in September, saw a rise of 500% in referrals.
The council made 43,283 referrals between April and October 2023, the period covered by the request. That is compared to 7,875 compared to the same period in the previous year.
Chorley and South Ribble councils in Lancashire saw bailiff referrals fall by 80% to 73.
The council's deputy leader told reporters the council looked to support people struggling to pay and save the taxpayer money without paying bailiff fees.
It is reported council tax, parking fines, non-payment of business rates, and housing arrears were among the unpaid bills.
Joe Cox, senior policy officer for charity Debt Justice, said the collection process "pushes people further into debt".
Enforcement companies only make money if a debt is recovered, which the head of the industry's new regulator admitted she has "concerns" about.
Catherine Brown, who chairs the Enforcement Conduct Board, said: "If I could wave a magic wand, I'd take those cases out where people don't act with humanity."