03-07-2025
Hartlepool council tax crackdown sees single-person claims drop
A local authority's crackdown on council tax fraud has helped contribute towards an 840-household reduction in single-person discount March last year, Hartlepool Borough Council had 17,411 people claiming the discount, which was about 40% of chargeable properties in the was above the national average of 34% and represented an approximate 2,000 household increase over five years, according to the Local Democracy Reporting of the end of May 2025, the figure was down to 16,568 households making a claim.
The 25% concession is available if only one person aged 18 or over lives at a property as their sole or main can also be claimed where there are two adults living at a property, but where one is disregarded for council tax, for example because they are a full-time council last year said it was going to look at targeting people wrongly claiming the discount, either intentionally and unintentionally.
'Eye-opening' fraud
It initially aimed for a reduction of 400 households claiming the discount for 2024/25, which it said would bring in about £150, the latest meeting of its finance and corporate affairs committee heard there had been a reduction of about 840 households as of the end of Magog, director of finance, IT and digital, said it represented a reduction of approximately 5% over the added: "We do think there is further to go. Some of the fraud cases we've identified are quite eye-opening, it's fair to say, and we do continue this work."I am hoping that figure will continue to come down whilst still ensuring people who are eligible for single-person discount can claim."A meeting earlier this year heard the currently Labour-led council had two fraud officers looking into introduction of the campaign was approved in February 2024 as part of budget plans for 2024/25 from the then-leading Conservative and independent coalition.
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