Councillors pursued over unpaid council tax, probe reveals

At least eight court summons have been issued to councillors across north-east England for non-payment of council tax in the past three years, documents have revealed.

A Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) investigation found sitting councillors in both Newcastle and County Durham had been taken to court for not paying their council tax bills since 2022.

Gateshead and Northumberland councils also had to send out non-payment reminder letters, though none of those cases led to a court summons.

Each of the councils has refused to name the councillors in question, with Durham County Council saying that doing so would be in breach of their privacy.

The authority also said it “would not significantly enhance public knowledge”.

This is despite a 2016 Upper Tribunal ruling against Bolton Council which found there was “compelling legitimate interest in the public knowing whether a particular councillor has failed to pay the council tax, at least in circumstances where they have remained in default for over two months”, apart from in “exceptional“ personal circumstances.

The LDRS has challenged the councils’ decision, after uncovering the data using the Freedom of Information Act.

Both North and South Tyneside authorities failed to respond by the 20-working-day legal deadline.

According to the documents, Newcastle City Council issued a total of four court summons to councillors since 2022 for unpaid amounts totalling £2,204.

Durham County Council issued summons to two councillors in 2024/25 who owed a total of £1,204, while a further four were sent reminder letters in that year for amounts between £15 and £631. The council said that all of those arrears were cleared by February 12 this year.

The authority previously issued one summons in 2023/24 over a £449 non-payment and also issued another councillor with a final notice warning letter relating to a £1,471 debt.

It also issued one councillor with a summons in 2022/23 relating to unpaid bills from past years totalling £6,250, as well as reminder letters to three other councillors owing between £19.59 and £136.

Victoria Murray, Durham’s head of transactional and customer services, said the authority took “prompt action” against those who did not pay council tax.

She added: “Any figures, or comparisons with other authorities in terms of the number of reminder letters or summons issued over a three-year period, need to be considered in the context of us being the biggest council in the region. We have by far the highest number of councillors – 126 up until next month’s elections.”

Sunderland City Council, meanwhile, has confirmed that fewer than five of its councillors have been pursued for council tax arrears between 2022 and 2025, but refused to disclose the actual number, their identities, or how much they owed.

It said councillors “should in principle expect to be able to enjoy the same rights to private, home and family life as members of the general public”.

Both Northumberland County Council and Gateshead Council confirmed they had issued no court summons to their councillors in arrears for each of the past three financial years. Four Northumberland councillors were sent reminder letters in that time, while four were sent reminders in Gateshead.