Published on:
11
October 2012
A review of all single person discounts offered to residents who live alone is set to start this month.
All households in Clackmannanshire claiming a single person's discount of 25% on their council tax bill are being checked for their authenticity using sophisticated data matching technology. This is part of an ongoing review to validate legitimate single person discount claims and identify and remove those being claimed in error or fraudulently.
A 25% discount, worth a minimum of £250 a year, is given to anyone who claims to be living in a property on their own; currently 9196 people in Clackmannanshire. It is estimated that by ensuring only those who are eligible are in receipt of the discount, we will save around £100,000 - enough to pay for bed and breakfast accommodation for five or six homeless people for a year or provide respite care for an elderly person with a disability for 139 weeks.
In partnership with nationally respected firms, Liberata UK Ltd and Equiniti Data Services, the Council will check to see whether people are genuinely living alone, by cross-referencing with other sources of information about their household such as, but not limited to, the electoral roll and financial sector information.
The review process will be carried out between October and November 2012, during which time, anyone whose claim for single person discount is under question will be contacted via letter and / or telephone as part of the review process. Anyone who fails to respond to requests for further information in relation to their claim will have the discount withdrawn. Where it is established, through the review process, that another adult is living at the address, the discount will be withdrawn.
Council Leader Gary Womersley said: "We will be contacting all those where the information received may indicate that the discount awarded requires further examination, but in the meantime, I would urge anyone who is claiming the discount and whose circumstances have changed to contact us immediately by 'phoning us on 450000.
"The longer you leave it, the larger your backdated bill will be, so it makes sense to tell us as soon as possible.
"Even if you were living alone when you received your bill for the year, if another adult is living with you now, we will need to re-calculate the amount you need to pay.
"People who are genuinely claiming the discount have nothing to worry about, but anyone found to be deliberately misleading us could face a fine of up to £75 and legal action."