From April 2025, local councils in Wales can use Universal Credit data to automate applications for Council Tax support, the Welsh Government has said. The change is an improvement to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, the national scheme for low-income households introduced in 2013 and uprated every year since1.
The Welsh Government set out the change in a consultation on the administration and enforcement of Council Tax in Wales, published on 30 April 2025 and open for a 12-week period until 23 July 2025. The consultation applies only to Wales1.
"From April 2025 we have made further improvements to the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, enabling local councils to use Universal Credit data to automate applications for Council Tax support."
The consultation also proposes changes to the steps councils take when a payment is missed. Under the current rules, a household that misses a payment has 7 days to pay the missed amount before losing the right to pay in instalments; if it does not pay within 7 days, the law states it must pay the remaining annual balance after a further 7 days. Councils only need to send reminder notices for the first two missed payments in a financial year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March. If a household misses a third payment, it must pay the remaining annual balance within 1 day1.
The Welsh Government proposes that councils should always send a reminder notice when a Council Tax instalment is missed. It also notes that many councils in Wales already send final notices, which ask for the amount owed within 7 days, and describes this as a positive approach1.
| Stage | Current position in Wales |
|---|---|
| Missed instalment | Reminder notice; 7 days to pay the missed amount |
| Still unpaid | Remaining annual balance due after a further 7 days |
| Third missed payment in a year | Remaining annual balance due within 1 day |
| Final notice | Amount owed within 7 days |
| Summons and liability order | Court costs capped at a maximum of £70 |
The consultation sets out the recovery powers available once a liability order is granted, including sending enforcement agents, attachment of earnings, deductions from benefit payments by the Department for Work and Pensions, charging orders, and applying to have a taxpayer declared bankrupt if they owe more than £5,0001.
The Welsh Government says Council Tax raises over £2.8 billion a year towards the £11 billion cost of local services in Wales. It also cites earlier changes: court fees for liability orders capped at £70 in 2011, the end of the threat of imprisonment for non-payment in 2019 alongside the Council Tax Protocol for Wales, and a commitment by all council leaders in November 2023 to use only accredited enforcement firms, which it says made Wales the first nation in the UK to do so1.
Why it matters for households
The automation change affects people in Wales who claim Council Tax Reduction and whose circumstances are recorded through Universal Credit. Where a council uses the data, an application for Council Tax support can be started without the household supplying the same information separately. The change took effect in April 2025 and applies in Wales only1.
The enforcement proposals, if adopted, would alter the timetable households face after a missed instalment. The consultation states that the current framework can escalate to a larger amount relatively quickly and that this can make it hard for households to escape debt. It also notes that Council Tax arrears are a common debt issue in Wales, often alongside other debts1.
The consultation document directs anyone struggling to pay to contact their local council, which can check entitlement to a reduction, discount or exemption, change a payment date, switch a household to 12 rather than 10 payments a year, or offer a payment plan that can run longer than one financial year, subject to the following year's bill. It also lists Advicelink Cymru on 0808 250 5700 and the Claim what's yours campaign1.
What happens next
The consultation closes on 23 July 2025. Responses can be submitted by email to CTandNDR.Consultations@gov.wales. The document carries the reference number WG517631.
Separately, the Welsh Government says the Local Government Finance (Wales) Act 2024, approved by the Senedd in 2024, paves the way for a revaluation of properties for Council Tax purposes in 2028 and for the system to be updated every five years1.
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