Unpaid council tax on the Isle of Wight has reached £27million, according to newly released figures, as the amount owed nationwide continues to climb into the billions.
Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), highlighted by debt advice charity National Debtline, show total council tax arrears on the Isle of Wight now stand at £27million.
Across England and Wales, council tax arrears have reached £7.4 billion, up from £6.6 billion in 2024/25.
The figures have been published alongside Freedom of Information data compiled by National Debtline as part of its annual ‘Stop the Knock’ campaign, examining councils’ use of bailiffs to recover unpaid bills.
Isle of Wight Council passed 3,306 council tax debts to bailiffs during 2025/26 – a reduction of 14% compared with the previous financial year.
Nationally, 1.72 million council tax arrears cases were passed to bailiffs by councils during 2025/26, broadly unchanged from the 1.74 million recorded in 2024/25.
Of the councils examined, 153 or 48% increased their use of bailiffs for council tax debts.
National Debtline says the figures demonstrate the continued reliance on enforcement action at a time when households remain under financial pressure.
The charity’s research also found that just 26 of 317 local authorities exempted residents receiving Council Tax Support from bailiff action last year, down from 35 in 2024/25.
Isle of Wight Council does not provide such an exemption for Council Tax Support recipients, according to National Debtline.
The charity is calling for this to change, arguing that those receiving Council Tax Support are likely to be among the most financially vulnerable residents and may be unable to repay outstanding bills quickly and in full.
Edward Ware, spokesperson for National Debtline, has said:
“We understand that councils are under increasing financial budget constraints, and council tax is vital to funding the local services we all rely on, but collecting this money cannot come at the expense of its most financially vulnerable residents.
“We are pleased to see that Isle of Wight Council has reduced its bailiff use recently, but we would urge councillors to review whether there is more the council could do to support residents who are struggling to pay.
“With council tax now one of the most common debts we see, we need councils to adopt fairer approaches to collection, not harsher enforcement. Exempting residents who receive Council Tax Support from bailiff action is a key way in which councils can help – and we would urge Isle of Wight Council to put this in place urgently.”
Changes to the way council tax debts are collected are expected to come into force in 2027 following a Government consultation.
Under the proposed reforms, councils will have to wait 63 days, rather than 2 weeks, before demanding a full year’s council tax following a missed instalment, with the changes expected to include more affordable repayment arrangements, a £100 cap on court-related fees and a move towards 12 monthly payments by default rather than the current 10.
National Debtline has welcomed the reforms but says further changes are needed, including statutory steps that councils would have to follow before referring debts to bailiffs.
