Welsh councils chase nearly £80 million in unpaid council tax

Welsh councils are chasing nearly £80 million in unpaid council tax. Credit: PA

Welsh local authorities are chasing nearly £80 million in unpaid council tax.

Research by ITV Wales indicates councils are still owed £78.8 million.

The figures relate to previous financial years and do not include debts in 2016-17. Authorities also wrote off £7.1 million last year - the highest in 5 years.

Unsurprisingly, Wales' largest authority, Cardiff, had the highest amount of arrears with over £9 million owed.

Here is the full list by local authority:

  • Blaenau Gwent £3,556,000

  • Bridgend £4,805,000

  • Caerphilly £2,991,490

  • Cardiff £9,170,496

  • Carmarthenshire £2,382,000

  • Ceredigion £2,187,303

  • Conwy £3,501,000

  • Denbighshire £1,829,254

  • Flintshire £927,874

  • Gwynedd £3,700,000

  • Merthyr £3,847,155

  • Monmouthshire £2,444,742

  • Neath Port-Talbot £4,336,360

  • Newport £3,444,000

  • Pembrokeshire £2,072,000

  • Powys £3,175,937

  • Rhondda Cynon Taff £5,500,000

  • Swansea £7,547,828

  • Torfaen £2,914,487

  • Vale of Glamorgan £1,809,000

  • Wrexham £4,300,000

  • Ynys Môn £2,501,000

Source: Freedom of Information / StatsWales

Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Local Government, Janet Finch-Saunders said:

The Welsh Local Government Association, who represent Welsh councils, has recently claimed collection rates are improving with over 97% of monies owed collected last year.

But the association also stressed councils are sensitive to the needs of residents experiencing financial difficulties. A WLGA spokesman said:

Watch Owain Phillips' report here.