‘Cruel’ council tax debt rules locking thousands into poverty, warns Greer

Scotland’s “cruel” council tax debt rules are locking thousands of people into poverty, the Scottish Greens have said.

Ross Greer, the party’s new co-leader, said the rules around local authority debt in Scotland are four times as harsh as those in England.

He said the system north of the border is trapping families in debt for decades.

At First Minister’s Questions – the first since the summer recess and since Mr Greer won his party’s co-leadership contest – the Green MSP called for an overhaul of the system.

“Scots are trapped in almost £2 billion of council tax debt, locked into poverty and living in fear of bailiffs at the door,” he said at Holyrood.

“Some of the families trapped in this situation spoke to (charity) Aberlour and this is what they said: ‘I felt like I was stuck in a hole, and I was getting deeper into it and I was not going to be able to get out of it’.

“‘You worry about being seen as a bad parent, or you worry and are upset that your kids are missing out on things’.”

Mr Greer said: “There are thousands of families across Scotland trapped in this situation.

“The rules for council tax debt here are four times as harsh as they are in England.

“This is trapping families with unpayable debts, in some cases for decades.”

Mr Greer has proposed changing the Housing (Scotland) Bill to bring council tax debt rules in Scotland into line with the rest of the UK.

He added: “Will the First Minister support our plan to end this cruel regime and break the cycle of poverty that so many families are stuck in?”

John Swinney said he recognises that “financial distress” is a “significant source of difficulty for families”.

He said that is why his key mission in Government is to eradicate child poverty.

“That is my key priority at the heart of the Government’s agenda, and the support that we put in place is designed to do that,” the First Minister said.

“Some of the measures that we have in place, such as the Scottish child payment, which does not exist in England and Wales, is a significant measure that supports families in difficulty.

“We have, of course, on other occasions, taken steps to remove debt in council tax.”

Mr Swinney said Mairi McAllan, the Housing Secretary, will engage with Mr Greer about his proposals for the Government’s Housing Bill.