A WHOPPING £2.3 million is owed in rent arrears by council tenants in East Lancashire. And, quite rightly, the government is telling local authorities to get to grips with this debt. For the ones who suffer for it are the honest tenants who pay their rent on time, but get reduced services as a result.

And when sums like this are written off as irrecoverable, all taxpayers are hit in the pocket.

Sums of this magnitude being outstanding suggest there is plenty of room for improvement, as Housing Minister Hilary Armstrong warns - and none for complacency.

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