Information on the number of liability orders is not held centrally on Ministry of Justice systems. It could be provided by contacting each magistrates court and manually collating only at a disproportionate cost.
The following table shows the number of people who were received in England and Wales prison establishments having been committed for non-payment of council tax (or community charge) in each year from 1997 to 2006. This is the most recent 10-year period for which published statistics are available. It is not possible to break down these figures by region.
Number of prison receptions 1997 357 1998 194 1999 101 2000 41 2001 29 2002 21 2003 30 2004 28 2005 21 2006 45 Source: Ministry of Justice report “Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2006”, table 7.10
It is likely that the numbers of warrants of commitment issued in respect of council tax arrears are higher than the numbers of people received in prison, as shown in this table. This is because it is possible for an individual to avoid being conveyed to prison by repaying arrears promptly and in full once a warrant of commitment is issued in their name.