Local authorities across Essex are out of pocket to the tune of £10m due to council tax fraud or errors…
Council tax fraud or errors with payments is costing local authorities across Essex some £10m. The figure was released as Essex councils launch a new partnership aimed at tackling this problem.
The county council revealed it is supporting district, borough, and city councils to address the problem. This will be achieved via a new pan-Essex campaign urging people to check they are paying the right amount before new software aimed at tackling fraud is implemented.
Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Finance Councillor John Spence said: “Council Tax is the tax that pays for the services we all take for granted.
“It’s the money that pays for our bins to be collected, our roads to be maintained, our schools to be built, and our elderly and young to be looked after, as well as of course policing and fire services.
“In the end, such losses mean higher council tax bills for the honest taxpayers. While this is fraud against the council it is your neighbour who will have to foot the additional bill, or suffer from inferior services.
“All households are required to pay it, and there are rightly a number of discounts and exceptions available depending on your circumstances. These are however open to abuse or error, and while this is a national issue in Essex it is estimated that £10million or more may be getting lost.
Abuse of the system is thought to be most rife in relation to the Single Person Discount. This enables people living alone to claim a 25 per cent discount on their total bill. It is hoped the new software system that is being developed for Essex councils will enable the sharing of data, which will prevent fraud and errors from occurring.
Councillor Spence added: “We know that some people are claiming discounts they are not entitled to in error.
“If you’re in a new relationship and your partner moves in, contacting the Council is the last thing on your mind, but now is the time to come forward.
“At the moment our anti-fraud work is done very much on a district by district basis, but we are looking to be the UK leaders in how we approach this, and the new software coming in October will enable all Essex authorities to share data, providing cutting edge technology that will detect where there are possible errors or fraud.
“So if you have made an error tell us now, rather than waiting to be found out down the line.”
