Tax payments the direct way

THE number of people paying council tax by direct debit has surged following a recent campaign and the scrapping of standing orders and cheques.

The city council has been trying to encourage people to sign up to direct debits, which make payments cheaper to collect and are likely to improve collection rates.

The council revealed that 57.9 per cent of households are now using direct debits, compared with only 53 per cent in January.