47,000 times in one year: Councils' use of bailiffs criticised

New figures reveal that Walsall Council sent bailiffs to homes 13,452 times in 2014/15 - the highest in the Black Country and 64th highest in the country.

This was compared to 11,327 in Wolverhampton, 8,657 in Sandwell, 7,566 in Dudley, 3,401 in Stafford and 3,163 in Cannock.

It comes as cash-strapped authorities battle to recoup unpaid bills. Wolverhampton council alone is owed more than £10 million in council tax and has written off £91,000 of that - despite needing to save £134m over five years and slashing 2,000 jobs.

And in Dudley, £2m in rent is owed, with 9,767 accounts in arrears at the end of June, along with £2.5m in council tax.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline said: "Local councils are facing significant funding pressures – and they of course have have a duty to collect what they are owed. In the case of council tax this is crucial in ensuring proper funding for the services that local people rely on.

"The councils' use of bailiffs, however, remains too high. On the front line of debt advice we know that sending the bailiffs in can deepen debt problems, rather than solve them – and it can also have a severe impact on the wellbeing of people who are often already in a vulnerable situation.

"Bailiff action is not only harmful to those in arrears – it is also a poor deal for the council taxpayer. Our research shows that the councils who use bailiffs the most are actually less effective at collecting council tax arrears. That's why we are urging councillors to consider ways they can improve the council's debt collection practices, and ensure that bailiffs are only used as an absolute last resort."

Rory Borealis, executive director for resources in Walsall, said: "Walsall Council collects council tax on around 113,000 properties and only uses enforcement agents when there is no other option."

He said the council uses trained debt advisors and insisted cases are returned to the council if bailiffs identify vulnerable people.

Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Tim Clark said: "We would only ever consider using an enforcement agency as a last resort. If a customer is not paying their bill, at every stage in the process we encourage them to contact us if there are experiencing difficulties and we will look to put a payment plan in place."