COUNCILS across the region are owed a whopping £131.9m in unpaid council tax – and the bill is rising.

Durham County Council is owed the largest amount – £24.5m – at March 31 this year, up from £23.9m in the previous financial year.

Other councils with substantial amounts of unpaid council tax include Middlesbrough (£16.5m), another local authority which saw a year-on-year rise from £14.6m the previous financial year.

A spokesman for the authority revealed it had written off £605,000 in unpaid council tax in the last financial year.

Its executive member for finance, Councillor Nicky Walker said it was “not an issue of councils’ ability to collect but people’s ability to pay” and cited the removal of council tax benefit in 2013 as one issue.

Redcar and Cleveland Council’s debt figure also grew from £9.4m to £10.7m, as did Stockton Borough Council from £7.4m the previous year to £8.5m.

Councillor Christopher Massey, cabinet member for resources for Redcar and Cleveland Council, said its in-year council tax collection rate was 96 per cent and its staff were “pursuing each case to ensure payment of the outstanding amounts”.

Recently Darlington Borough Council sparked fury among some residents by writing off more than £1.5m in debt – a combination of unpaid non-domestic rates, council tax and housing tenant arrears.

Its deputy leader Stephen Harker said although it was a large sum of money, it was a small percentage of the council’s annual debt.

The authority, which is making more than £12m of cuts, is owed £6.2m in council tax, a slight rise on the 2014/15 figure of £6m.

While in North Yorkshire the county council does not collect council tax, the job falls to smaller district or borough councils and they too have six figure amounts owing, such as Hambleton (£1.8m).

All the figures include credits that have been applied to accounts when people have overpaid their council tax along with costs from taking people to court for non-payment. Write-offs can occur when people die with no means to pay their bills, they are declared bankrupt, or simply cannot be traced.

National charity the Money Advice Trust said that council tax is now the fastest growing type of problem debt it is helping clients to resolve – with 25 percent of all callers now in arrears, up from 14 percent in 2007.

Its chief executive Joanna Elson, OBE said: “Council tax is vital in funding the essential local services that we all rely on and local authorities are already under significant financial pressure – so it is in everyone’s interests that arrears are repaid.

“We would urge all councils to do everything they can to ensure that residents in difficulty are signposted to free advice that will help them get back on track.”

Council Amount owed in unpaid council tax 2014/15 2015/16 (as at March 31)

Darlington £6m £6.2m

Durham £23.9m £24.5m

Gateshead £9.1m £10.7m

Hambleton £1.6m £1.8m

Hartlepool £4.9m £5.5m

Harrogate £2.9m £2.9m

Middlesbrough £14.6m £16.5m

Newcastle £14.2m £12.1m

North Tyneside £11.7m £12.8m

Redcar and Cleveland £9.4m £10.7m

Stockton £7.4m £8.5m

South Tyneside £9.1m £10.5m

Sunderland £12.5m £13.9m

York £6m £6.1m

(Source: Department for Communities and Local Government)