For every pound of council tax collected, this shows how much the council loaded onto residents in court fees and admin charges along the way. It's a gauge of how much the council relies on legal pressure rather than reminders and payment plans. A high value means collection leans heavily on courts and added charges; a low value suggests most people pay without being taken to court — though under-reporting can flatter some councils.
| name | enforcement_cost_intensity |
|---|---|
| dataset | 03-council-tax-collection |
| kind | constructed |
| type | numeric |
| unit | ratio |
| grain | billing authority |
| role | feature |
| source | formula: ct_court_admin_costs / ct_receipts_inyear (Table_9a cols 31, 8) |
| period | 2024-25 financial year |
| missingness | numerator may be under-reported ([note b]); otherwise unknown |
| score_note | Distinctive coercion proxy, dragged down by an under-reported numerator (note b). |
| peer_group | council class (district / county / unitary / metropolitan / London) — not yet scored on the leaderboard |
Court and administration costs per pound of in-year receipts, proxying reliance on court enforcement to collect. High values suggest the council collects through coercion rather than early engagement. Caveat [note b]: court and administration costs may be under-reported, biasing the ratio downwards for some councils.