Fraud investigators generate extra £3.6m for Herts councils after discounts probe

Fraud investigators have discovered thousands of residents in Hertfordshire wrongly claiming council tax discounts – generating more than £3m in additional income for East Herts Council and other local authorities across the county.

As part of the Hertfordshire Council Tax Framework, the scrutineers reviewed single-person discounts and empty property exemptions claimed in eight of the county’s 10 district and borough areas in 2023-24.

They identified 780 properties incorrectly reported as empty for at least six months and 3,171 that received a discount for single occupancy.

That resulted in an additional £3.6m of income for councils in Hertfordshire, of which £1.5m went to the county council, as the main preceptor from council tax revenue.

The work of the Hertfordshire Council Tax Framework – managed by the Shared Anti Fraud Service (SAFS) – was highlighted at a meeting of the county council’s audit committee on Tuesday July 23.

According to a report presented to the committee, where discounts had been wrongly claimed, new council tax bills were issued.

Where appropriate, this also led to a New Homes Bonus, which is paid by the Government for bringing empty properties back into use.

Council tax reviews have now been completed in East Herts, North Herts, Stevenage, Hertsmere, Dacorum and St Albans, with work ongoing in Watford and Three Rivers.

A county council spokesman said: “Our Shared-Anti Fraud Service works tirelessly to protect taxpayer funds from fraud and abuse.

“Over the last 12 months we have worked with district and borough councils to identify those who have claimed discounts for council tax to which they are not entitled.

“By using a range of tools and data sharing between agencies, we identified £3.6 million of discounts that should not have been claimed which have been, or will be, returned to fund essential services to residents.”