'Drastic' council tax collection improvements needed

Birmingham City Council has been urged to "drastically improve" its council tax collection rate as it looks to rebuild stability.

The Labour-run authority has been forced to make unprecedented cuts to services over the past year as it grapples with a financial crisis in which it declared itself effectively bankrupt

Council tax was increased by 10% last year and residents will be hit with a 7.5% hike in April.

A council performance report covering the third quarter of 2024-25 showed the council tax collection rate at that point was about 75% - below both the 75.90% recorded the previous year and its target of 78.45%.

Robert Alden, leader of the council's Conservative group, said council tax collection was "really fundamental to the financial viability of the organisation going forward".

He said about 1 in 10 people's council tax was not collected last year - a figure he described as "appalling" at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

He continued: "I would be interested to hear what cabinet are doing to actually try and drastically improve that collection rate so we can make sure the money the council is owed is collected."

Karen McCarthy, cabinet member for finance, responded by saying provisional figures indicated a "continuing rise in the percentage collected".

"With the caveat that those are provisional figures, I can say that they actually show a very slight improvement on the previous year which, given the year we've had, is remarkable," she said.

From April, those living in a Band D property will be charged £2,237 for the 2025/26 financial year - up from the current £2,083.76.

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