Derby City Council is to undertake a full review of Council Tax Single Person Discount claims, stepping up efforts to identify fraudulent behaviour.
Of the 111,000 dwellings within the city there are currently around 40,000 that are receiving a single person discount. Using intelligent data matching the Council will compare records to check the validity of the discount awarded.
If residents are found to be receiving a discount they are not entitled to the claim will be stopped and the cancellation backdated as far as the evidence supports. Further, legislation also allows the local authority to impose a civil penalty or in serious cases prosecute those found to be cheating the system.
Cllr Nicola Roulstone, Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement said:
We urge all our residents to tell us if they are receiving a single person discount if they are not entitled to do so. We now have an improved ability to cross check claims so tell us now if your circumstances have changed. We take fraud extremely seriously especially at a time when finances are so tight and we have to watch every penny we spend.
If you want to know about eligibility for Council Tax discounts and to check if you are claiming correctly you can visit the Council Tax discount page of the council website or report your change of circumstances.