Neath Port Talbot Council is set to undertake a review of its Single Person Discount for Council Tax to ensure that only residents who are entitled to are claiming the discount.
Starting in April the review will use data matching technology to identify those who are claiming a 25% discount that they may not be eligible to receive; these residents will be sent a letter asking them to confirming their current circumstances.
This will allow the Council to ensure its records are up to date and allow residents to notify the Council if there has been a change in their circumstances.
Residents who receive the letter but do not respond will have their Single Person Discount removed and further investigations may be undertaken.
Hywel Jenkins, Director of Finance and Corporate Services said: “Whilst most residents claiming the discount are doing so appropriately, there is a small minority who are attempting to defraud the system by not reporting changes to their circumstances.”
“People who are genuinely claiming the single person discount have nothing to worry about and I would like to thank residents for their on-going cooperation throughout this exercise.”
“The Council is dedicated to protecting the public purse and detecting fraud. Council Tax fraud is taken very seriously so we are very proactive in confirming all entitlements to discounts.”
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