Ealing Council was owed more than £15 million in unpaid council tax and business rates in 2024/25, according to figures highlighted by the GMB union.
Data compiled from government statistics shows the London Borough of Ealing had £15.6 million in uncollected revenue, including £8.5 million in council tax and £7.1 million in business rates, placing it 17th out of London’s 33 local authorities.
The borough sits mid-table compared with its neighbours. Brent recorded £26.6 million in uncollected taxes, while Hammersmith and Fulham had £25.7 million. Hillingdon also reported a higher total at £17.6 million.
However, Ealing’s figure was above both Hounslow (£14.6 million) and Harrow (£10.7 million).
Across London, councils failed to collect a combined £566 million, based on analysis of Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government data.
Westminster recorded the highest level of uncollected revenue at just over £60 million, while London Borough of Sutton had the lowest at £3.8 million.
Lisa Bangs, GMB senior organiser, said the scale of uncollected taxes was “indefensible” and commented: “The scale of uncollected council taxes and business rates across the capital is indefensible. Councils often complain of being cash-strapped, but they are owed millions of pounds and are failing to collect it.
“This is money they could use to fund overstretched public services and protect council workers’ jobs and pay. With the new tax year, we are calling on councils to put in place more robust systems to deal with those who don’t pay and ensure they collect all they can to fund frontline services.”
An Ealing Council spokesperson told EALING.NEWS the figures reflected the position only up to the end of the financial year and that collection activity continued beyond that point.
“The figures shown are for the cash collection for the financial year 2024/25 – however only up to 31st March 2025. Collection goes on after this date for all debts. Since the 31st of March 2025 we have reduced the outstanding debt by £850K for council tax for the financial year 2024/25 and a further £1.7M in NNDR (national non-domestic rates).
“We take council tax collection extremely seriously and make strenuous efforts to collect all the tax that is owed to us. We work closely with taxpayers to provide flexible payment methods and instalment options that meet customers’ needs while also supporting the council. Often these plans can extend over the end of the financial year.”
“Ealing Council will take all appropriate action to recover a debt if a customer fails to pay. We do encourage any resident to contact us where we can provide support and payment options to anyone struggling with their financial circumstances.”
