MORE of the region’s families are being taken to court because they are unable to pay sky-high council tax bills, the Conservatives said yesterday.

There were 211,080 applications for liability orders – allowing town halls to take payments from wages, or benefits – across the North-East and North Yorkshire last year, figures show.

The Tories immediately blamed Gordon Brown for inflicting the “trauma” of a court appearance on families, because council tax has risen under Labour.

A liability order also allows a council to send in a bailiff to take goods in lieu of payment.

Proposed legislation will allow bailiffs to restrain householders and even use handcuffs.

The highest number of orders in 2008-09 was in Northumbria (106,822), followed by Cleveland (44,277), County Durham (41,219) and North Yorkshire (18,762).

No breakdown was available for previous years but, across England and Wales, the total rose 28 per cent, from 2.44 million in 2005-06 to 3.12 million last year.

Caroline Spelman, the Conservative local government spokeswoman, said: “Thanks to Gordon Brown doubling the level of council tax, a record number of families are now struggling to make ends meet.

“Three million households last year faced the trauma of going to court and the prospect of a town hall bailiff invading their home.”

Durham County Council said it tried to avoid implementing a liability order if possible by agreeing a repayment scheme with households in difficulty.

A spokesman said: “We deal with each case on its merits and take into account a resident’s individual circumstances before deciding what action to take.

“We make every effort to encourage anyone having difficulty paying their council tax to seek help from either ourselves or an independent organisation such as the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.”

The liability order statistics were released by the Government and include action against companies failing to pay business rates. A £45 fee is also imposed.

According to the Conservatives, the average band D council tax bill will be £1,456 after April – compared with £688 in 1997 when Labour came to power.

The Tories have unveiled plans to freeze bills for two years by giving funds to town halls planning increases below 2.5 per cent – delivering, it said, a £210 saving to the average family.

Labour immediately branded the plan a con, warning that local councils would only be able to take advantage by making big cuts in public services.

However, since then, inflation has fallen dramatically and many councils have announced they are freezing bills for the next financial year anyway, or imposing only small rises.