Finance

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Dear

IMPORTANT - Council Tax - Single Person Discount

My records indicate that you are in receipt of a 25% Council Tax discount as you are the only adult (over the age of 18 years) living at your property. I am writing to advise you that the Audit Commission will be undertaking a matching exercise of various databases to establish where households claiming a single person discount have more than one adult in residence.

This exercise known as the National Fraud Initiative will take place over the next few months and this Council will then be informed of all discrepancies. I would like to remind all recipients of a single person discount that they are obliged to notify the Council within 21 days of any change of circumstances i.e. when another adult moves in.

If your circumstances have not changed I would like to reassure those of you claiming a single person discount legitimately that no discount will be cancelled without confirmed evidence, however I may need to write to you for clarification if someone who normally lives at your property is temporarily away e.g. students attending university or college, if these details are not already included in my records.

The rest of this letter does not apply to those genuinely claiming a single person discount however you may wish to read the statement issued by the Audit Commission at the end of this correspondence.

If your circumstances have changed please notify me immediately by either contacting this office in writing, by telephone or email. In these cases I will take no other action than cancel your single person discount from the date of the change and recalculate your Council Tax instalments spreading them over the remaining tax year (on the grounds that the correct details are provided).

However, if your change of circumstances is identified under the National Fraud Initiative your single person discount will be cancelled from the date of change and the outstanding monies demanded immediately. As it is also a civil offence to claim a single person discount when not entitled a fine will be imposed on each occasion the discount has been claimed when there was no entitlement i.e. at previous reviews. The fine/s will also be payable immediately.

You are most probably aware of the Government's targets to reduce fraud within Government agencies and local Councils, this National Fraud Initiative brings together data held by numerous bodies to identify any likely fraud not only regarding Council Tax single person discounts but also many welfare benefits including Housing Benefit.

The Audit Commission have asked me to advise you of the following statement, a similar statement is already included on your Council Tax bill.

“The authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you have provided for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes”.

(If you think you know of a matter of Benefit or Council Tax discount fraud please call the Benefits Fraud Hotline on 0800 0262456 twenty four hour confidential message recording service).

If you wish to discuss any matters raised in this letter do not hesitate to contact these offices.

Yours sincerely

Revenues & Benefits Manager