3,000 Nantwich households face Council Tax discount checks

As many as 3,000 households in Nantwich could be scrutinised by Cheshire East Council as part of widespread checks on single person Council Tax discounts.

The authority says it intends to run data checks on households claiming discounts “to find instances where incorrect awards have been made”.

All households in Cheshire East claiming a single person’s discount of 25% (worth around £250 a year) off their bill will be checked using data-matching technology.

A spokesman said they believe around 2% of households in the authority area claiming the discount could be wrong.

Nantwich has 3,000 single person discount claims against a property total of 7,300, a higher ratio than the rest of Cheshire East.

In total, Cheshire East has 55,000 single person discounts – just under a third of the total number of properties.

The spokesman added that auditors review discounts regularly so don’t expect to uncover “large scale errors”.

The checks will examine whether people are living alone by cross-referencing with other sources of information about their household, including electoral roll registers and financial information.

Residents who fail to respond to two written requests for more information in relation to their claim, will have it withdrawn from the beginning of the current financial year or from the date the discount was applied, if within the current financial year.

Discounts will be withdrawn if checks prove another adult is living at the address.

Cllr Paul Bates, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for finance and communities, said: “We will be contacting all those we believe to be claiming incorrectly.

“In the meantime, I would urge anyone who is claiming the discount and whose circumstances have changed, to contact us immediately by visiting the council tax section of the authority’s website or by telephoning 0300 123 5013.

“It would be advisable for individuals to let us know about changes in their circumstances, 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.”