We won't use bailiffs against people who cannot afford to pay and put struggling people into more difficulty

As members of the local authority gathered on Water Street to discuss Liverpool’s economic position on Wednesday evening, members of community-based union ACORN staged a loud intervention.

Chanting “bailiff free Britain” and brandishing a flag with the ACORN logo, half a dozen activists attempted to take to the front of the Town Hall chamber to make their voices heard. The union has been campaigning nationally to end the use of bailiffs for the collection of council tax debt.

One of the demonstrators spoke with Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, during the disruption. He told members how he agreed “completely” in some areas but a “slight difference of opinion” remained over how enforcement was used.

As Anfield Cllr Billy Marrat brought his maiden speech to a close, members of the public who had been sitting at the back of the room since the meeting began an hour earlier sprung from their seats, attempting to make their way to the front where city leaders were sat. While noisy, the demonstration was peaceful, with CitySafe officials putting themselves between the activists and councillors.

One man was seen carrying a sign that read “Boot the Bailiffs” while others waved the flag bearing ACORN’s insignia. Addressing members after the meeting resumed, Cllr Robinson said he was willing to work with the union.

He said: “A very good and well-meaning organisation who I’ve met with before and more than happy to meet with again. They’re campaigning that they would like local authorities right across the country not to use any bailiffs at all.

“Now where I agree with them completely and where we are completely committed, we will not use bailiffs against people who cannot afford to pay their debts to the council, we will not do that. We are not about putting people who are struggling into more difficulty.

“Where we have a slight difference of opinion with them is that where we have affluent people and organisations that can pay and won’t pay, then obviously as appropriate, we will use all the means that’s available to us. The reason that I say that is that’s what the people out there would expect of us.

“Very much agree with the vast majority of the sentiment of what we heard but that’s where we have a slight difference of opinion.” According to the city council’s website, it will seek to recover council tax debts via bailiffs when attempts to reach a payment plan cannot be agreed.

This can include a failure to attend court via a summons. As CitySafe officers removed the protestors, one man was heard to shout “take your hands off me, get your hands off me now, I did not give you my consent to touch me.”

ACORN Branch secretary Martin Mawdsley said that after a positive meeting with the council in August, dialogue with the union had stopped, leaving members feeling they had no choice but to take action. He said: “We all want to see local services being funded, but too many people can’t afford to pay. Council tax debt is going up past £7bn, showing that it doesn’t matter how many bailiffs councils send, people just don’t have the money.

“Bailiffs don’t care whether you can’t pay or won’t pay, and what you could pay, they take for themselves. Some councils have stopped using bailiffs either entirely or almost entirely, yet haven’t seen revenues drop.

“The solution is better support, early intervention and soft enforcement that gives struggling households every opportunity to settle the debt fairly. We need the council to fully roll out these measures and give bully bailiffs the boot.”