People are struggling to pay bills because of the economic downturn.

In recent research, the Liberal Democrats claim that councils in England and Wales are taking people to court too quickly for failing to pay their council tax.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, a survey of approximately 170 councils was conducted and found that over the course of 2008 more than one million people have been ordered to court because they failed to pay their Council Tax in full.

The research also discovered that bailiffs were called to collect arrears from almost 600,000 people and councils filed for bankruptcy against defaulters in over 1,700 cases.

Following the results, the Liberal Democrats are urging councils to practice restraint over the tax arrears and are calling all public bodies to follow a code of conduct to ensure that families are not bankrupted unnecessarily during a time of economic crisis.

The Local Government Association (LGA) confirmed the Liberal Democrats’ figures but stated that the majority of people taken to court or who faced bailiffs did not actually end up in court or had any possessions seized.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Local Government Secretary, Julia Goldsworthy, said: “This survey shows the devastating effect that failing to pay Council Tax can have on families, especially those already struggling to cope with mortgage repayments and rising bills.

“Just as lenders are being asked to reduce repossessions, public bodies should do everything they can to ensure that bankruptcy is only ever a last resort.”