Calls for council tax debtors to be spared jail in England

It is a return to the days of Dickens, sending some of the poorest people to jail for bills they simply can’t afford. Or is it a valuable tool for councils to deal with people who don’t pay their council tax?

England is now the only country in the UK where you can be sent to jail for council tax debt.

And since 2011 hundreds of people have been imprisoned for just that.

Today, though, a report by the Social Market Foundation is calling on the government to change the law, calling it  “inhumane” and “ineffective”.

In this exclusive report, we’ve been speaking to two women about becoming prisoners for failing to pay their council tax.