Bailiff plea after 17,000 referrals in one year

Newcastle City Council referred cases to bailiffs for parking fines and council tax arrears

A charity has urged a city's council bosses to cut down on using bailiffs after there were more than 17,000 referrals in one year.

Newcastle City Council referred 17,494 debts to bailiffs in 2022-23 – far more than any other in the North East.

National Debtline, a free debt advice service, has written to city Labour leader Nick Kemp and asked the council to make a "clear public commitment to reduce the use of bailiffs over time" and described it as "distressing" for those in financial difficulty.

The council has been contacted for comment.

Bailiffs have the right to visit a property to collect money owed and can remove and sell goods to repay certain debts, including council tax arrears and parking penalty charge notices, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Referrals to bailiffs in England and Wales to recover unpaid council debts have risen by nearly 20%, a BBC investigation revealed in February.

National Debtline said that 2.71m debts were referred to bailiffs by councils during 2022-23 across England and Wales.

Steve Vaid, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust which runs National Debtline, said the Newcastle figures "remained high".

'Deeper financial difficulty'

He said: "Local authorities remain under significant financial pressure and council tax plays a crucial role in funding vital local services.

"Facing bailiff action, however, can be a distressing experience and risks pushing people already struggling into deeper financial difficulty,

"Bailiffs should only ever be used as a last resort.

"We have written to the leader to set out simple steps they can take to improve the way the council collects debts it is owed."

Newcastle's bailiff referrals included for 9,814 parking fines and 6,911 cases of council tax arrears.

Neighbouring Gateshead Council used bailiffs a total of 2,567 times in 2022-23, with South Tyneside reporting 4,428 referrals and Northumberland 4,466, according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information requests.

Durham County Council referred 5,865 cases to bailiffs, North Tyneside Council 12,352, and Sunderland City Council 12,553.