Council bosses in Newcastle have been urged to cut down on the “distressing” use of bailiffs to collect debts – after sending them to knock on more than 17,000 doors in just one year.

National Debtline, a free debt advice service run by charity the Money Advice Trust, has warned the authority that bailiffs should only be used as a last resort and risk “pushing people already struggling into deeper financial difficulty”.

It comes after figures revealed that Newcastle City Council referred 17,494 debts to bailiffs in 2022/23 – far more than any other in the North East.

The service has written to city Labour leader Nick Kemp and asked the council to make a “clear public commitment to reduce the use of bailiffs over time”.

Bailiffs have the right to visit a property to collect money owed and can remove and sell goods to repay certain debts, including council tax arrears and parking penalty charge notices.

Steve Vaid, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, said: “Local authorities remain under significant financial pressure and council tax plays a crucial role in funding vital local services. Facing bailiff action, however, can be a distressing experience and risks pushing people already struggling into deeper financial difficulty. Bailiffs should only ever be used as a last resort.

“Unfortunately Newcastle City Council’s use of bailiffs remains high. Improving debt collection practices benefits not just people in financial difficulty, but councils too. We have written to the leader to set out simple steps they can take to improve the way the council collects debts it is owed.

“We are also calling on the new government to support Newcastle City Council and other councils by introducing ring-fenced funding to enable all local authorities to provide 100 percent Council Tax Support to households on the lowest incomes.”

Newcastle’s bailiff referrals included 9,814 parking fines and 6,911 cases of council tax arrears.

Neighbouring Gateshead Council used bailiffs a total of just 2,567 times in 2022/23 by comparison, with South Tyneside reporting 4,428 referrals and Northumberland 4,466 according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information requests.

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Durham County Council referred 5,865 cases to bailiffs, North Tyneside Council 12,352, and Sunderland City Council 12,553.

National Debtline said that 2.71 million debts were referred to bailiffs by councils during 2022/23 across England and Wales.

Newcastle City Council was contacted for a comment and had not responded at time of publication.