Unpaid council tax should indeed be chased down. No-one should be able to get away with not paying what they owe, however unfair the tax may be. But forcing people in to bankruptcy is not the way to do it.

Rather than using bailiffs and bankruptcy orders, councils should be far less aggressive, and they certainly shouldn’t be putting peoples homes in danger or forcing them into bankruptcy given the current economic situation. These measures should only be used in extreme cases, when no alternative can be found.

It is very wrong that local councils are turning hundreds of pounds of debt into a five figure sum through legal costs. There must be better ways to get the money.