Step Towards Fairer Debt Recovery
by Myles Fitt, CAS Head of Influence and Engagement.
This article was first published in The Herald on 12 September 2026.
When the First Minister unveiled his Programme for Government last week there was one line in it that particularly piqued my interest. And regular readers of this column will understand why.
This was the pledge "to consider any changes required to make Council Tax debt recovery processes fairer."
This is a drum that we at CAS have been banging regularly for years. Not just here in this space but elsewhere and – crucially – behind the scenes in direct communications with ministers and officials. It’s great to see that the government has listened, and is committed to looking at the issue.
So, to re-cap, why does this particular issue matter so much?
As with all of the things we campaign on, the answer lies in the direct experience of what our CAB advisers are seeing on the ground.
Council Tax debt is the single most common of all types of debt that are brought to our network in Scotland. That fact often surprises people but it has been consistently true for over a decade now. Last year for example, Scottish CABs supported more than 3,200 people with Council Tax debt. That’s 36% of the total number we supported with any type of debt.
The root of the problem is the fast and harsh debt recovery process that Councils use to pursue arrears, particularly when it’s applied to those who are unable to pay due to low income. If you miss just one month’s payment, the Council very quickly demands that you pay the whole year’s bill. This then escalates to the legal recovery of the debt, which can include funds being taken directly from your bank account.
This can have a hugely damaging effect on those who are struggling to pay. Their already limited funds need to be urgently redirected from essential living costs such as food, heat and shelter or from paying off other debts, to avoid the legal consequences. Bank accounts can also be frozen for several days, leaving people unable to access their money.
As a result, people across the country are regularly caught literally without any money to buy food or pay the rent/mortgage and energy bills. It is a devastating situation to be in, and changes to the system are long overdue.
In their considerations for making the recovery process fairer, we firmly urge Scottish Government to look at changes through a wide rather than narrow lens. We also urge them to follow what is happening in other parts of the UK.
The Welsh Government has already made reforms to make it fairer on those struggling to pay while England is poised to follow suit. Scotland mustn’t be left behind in this.
The right approach here will avoid that. It will also have a positive impact on communities across Scotland, help keep people from getting locked in poverty and go a long way to addressing the cost of living crisis.
That’s why we intend to continue to make the case to the government on this. Because Scotland needs a wide-ranging look at the process, and following the comprehensive actions taken in other parts of the UK would be a good place to start.