The latest Council Tax & NNDR (National Non Domestic Rates) Collection analysis is now available on the RSN website for RSN Sparse member authorities here.

The analysis provides benchmarking on the collection rates of council tax and non-domestic rates by local authorities.

The in-year collection rate is the amount of council tax (or non-domestic rates) due for the financial year that was received by 31 March of the year in question shown as a percentage of the net collectable debit in respect of that year's council tax (or non-domestic rates). In other words, it is the amount of council tax (or non-domestic rates) collected by 31 March shown as a percentage of the total amount that local authorities would have collected if everyone liable had paid what they were supposed to. It includes prepayments made in respect of the current year but does not include the payment of any arrears in respect of previous years, nor any prepayments made in respect of following years.

The collection of both council tax and non-domestic rates continues once the financial year to which it relates has ended. This means the final collection rate achieved is somewhere between the figures shown in this release and 100%.

The collection rate in 2022-23 is recovering following a fall as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic where there was a temporary reduction or pause of recovery and enforcement action, either by the authority or because courts were closed. The resumption of these services began later in 2021.

Full analyses can be accessed on the RSN website here.