'Clear evidence' that bailiffs most used in deprived areas of Haringey

Acorn Haringey claim the council are ‘sending most bailiffs into the most ethnically diverse parts of Haringey’, reports Miriam Balanescu

New data from Acorn Haringey has found that the most deprived wards of Haringey are also the most affected by debt referrals to bailiffs.

The data – which Acorn claim was supplied to them by a Haringey councillor – covers the year 2021/22, and shows that Tottenham Hale ward and Northumberland Park ward are the worst affected areas, with 85.3 to 95.9 bailiff referrals per head. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), these wards are also among the 5% most deprived super output areas (SOAs) in England.

The two wards are closely followed by Tottenham Hale Central and Seven Sisters wards, with 78.4 to 85.3 referrals per head. This is compared to Fortis Green, Alexandra Palace, and Muswell Hill wards, which had the lowest number of referrals last year.

Plotting the number of referrals to enforcement agents (EAs) per 1,000 households against the average national deprivation ranking of wards, Acorn found “that the rate at which households are referred to bailiffs is highest in Haringey’s most deprived wards.”

In May, Acorn renewed calls to end the use of bailiffs by Haringey Council, finding that 8,184 council tax debts in Haringey were referred to bailiffs between April 2022 and March 2023 – up from 8,048 during the previous twelve months.

Earlier in the year, the council shared data with Acorn which was found to be incorrect: claiming a reduction of 18,000 in 2019/20 to 6,000 in 2022/23, a 67% drop as a result of their ‘ethical debt policy’. The corrected figures obtained by Acorn Haringey showed the actual reduction was a 22% drop from 10,553 to 8,184, “grossly overstating the effectiveness of their ethical debt policy in reducing the use of bailiffs for council tax debt collection in May”.

Acorn now claim that the council’s policy is ineffective, as households are only defined as “low-income” if they are in receipt of benefits. A spokesperson for Acorn said: “In Haringey, 19.2% of residents are in work but earn below the London Living Wage.

“Many households who don’t fit into this narrow definition are just one energy bill from being unable to pay their council tax on time. Bailiffs are a humiliating, expensive, and unnecessary way of dealing with their unique situations.”

The organisation added that the Tottenham wards and Hornsey and Wood Green wards are also the “most ethnically diverse in the borough”, suggesting that the use of bailiffs had been disproportionately affecting Black and other ethnic minority groups.

Acorn Haringey chair Reuben Bard-Rosenberg said: “Haringey Council have repeatedly claimed that they protect residents who are struggling from bailiffs and suggested that it’s mainly something they use against landlords and second home owners. But from speaking to residents who have experienced the brutality of bailiffs sent to their door, we knew that this was not the full picture. Now we have clear evidence that the council are using bailiffs against those communities in our borough who are already struggling. It’s particularly shocking to see the council sending most bailiffs into the most ethnically diverse parts of Haringey. With Black people and other people of colour already targeted disproportionately by police, we need to see an end to people of colour being targeted by their own Council.”

Cllr Dana Carlin, cabinet member for finance and local investment, said: “We know that many of our residents are struggling to make ends meet amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. As a council, we are here to help. I strongly encourage anyone in financial difficulty to get in touch so we can connect them with the support available.

“We have a range of initiatives in place to support residents struggling to pay council tax, which means that over 19,000 of our poorest households have not had a council tax bill to pay this year at all.

“In line with our Ethical Debt Reduction Policy, we also take a number of steps before resorting to bailiff enforcement. We urge all our residents to get in touch if they are having difficulty paying their council tax. We never use bailiffs where we are aware that people are on very low incomes, facing mental health challenges or have other vulnerabilities.

“It is widely recognised that council tax is a regressive tax which takes a greater proportion of income from those on lower incomes. The sad reality is that this means households in the more deprived areas of our borough can be more likely to fall into council tax debt. Unfortunately, power to change this sits with national government.

“We are continually looking at our policies and procedures to ensure that we are doing all we can to protect our most vulnerable residents whilst also collecting the funds we need to provide vital services.”

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