A prison warrant for non-payment of council tax was issued only once in Teesside - despite more than £27m being owed to cash-strapped local authorities.
Teesside’s three councils - Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland - all saw a rise in the amount of court summons issued to households who did not pay council tax.
They also sent out more liability orders - a legal demand for payment - and instructed bailiffs to seize property more regularly in 2013/14 than in previous years.
But only Redcar and Cleveland issued a warrant for prison, to one household, for non-payment - whilst instructing a bailiff 6,431 times.
Norman Pickthall, Redcar and Cleveland Council’s cabinet member for corporate resources, confirmed one individual went to prison after failing to comply with the terms of a suspended sentence for non-payment of council tax and business rates.
Cllr Pickthall said: “Sweeping changes to the welfare reform system mean that many people are paying council tax for the first time while others are struggling to make ends meet.
“As a council, we will always do our very best to help but we have a statutory duty to collect debts and will take legal or recovery action as a last resort.
“However, the figures are not quite what they seem and they include a significant number of historic debts that the council has re-issued.
“In addition, each debt could be made up of several liability orders, which are shown as an instruction to the bailiff, so it’s not the case that bailiffs have visited more than 6,000 homes.”
The figures were uncovered after freedom of information requests to all three councils.
Earlier this year, the Department for Communities and Local Government revealed that more than £27m was owed to Teesside councils at the end of 2013/14.
Middlesbrough Council had the highest arrears amount - £13m - but Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland councils also saw a rise in the amount they were owed.
And almost £9m in council tax went unclaimed in 2013/14 - almost twice as much as the year before.
All three authorities say the rise in tax arrears is down to Government changes to council tax benefit in 2013 - which led to people receiving higher bills, and some paying for the first time.
Middlesbrough’s Deputy Mayor and executive member for finance and governance, Cllr Dave Budd, said at the time: “Our approach does recognise the impact on vulnerable individuals and those in real hardship.
“It should be noted that nationally, with only a few exceptions, the map of where arrears are highest mirrors the map of high deprivation, greatest cuts to councils and the hardest impact of welfare reform.”
The latest figures show Middlesbrough issued almost double the amount of court summons in 2013/14 (16,822) than the year before, while the number of liability orders went up from 6,961 to 14,090.
But the number of times a bailiff was instructed in the town dropped.
In Stockton, there were again no warrants for prison - but summons shot up by more than 7,000 to 16,873, and liability orders almost doubled to 14,493.
But the amount of cases referred to a bailiff dropped significantly to 3,300 in 2013/14 from 5,072.
Stockton Council’s Cabinet member for corporate management and finance, Cllr David Harrington, said: “We act promptly to try to stop arrears building up and pursue all debts in a firm, fair and consistent way and in all cases of non-payment.
“However, it is important to view these figures in the context of the current financial climate and the major changes the Government has made to the welfare system.
“We are of course concerned when local residents find it difficult to pay their Council Tax and would urge anyone who is having difficulties to contact us as soon as possible so that we can provide advice and explore alternative repayment arrangements.”
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