Peterborough City Council is undertaking a review of all residents who receive the 25 per cent single person discount on their Council Tax.

This discount can be claimed where a dwelling or property has a sole adult occupant who is liable to pay Council Tax.

All responses to the review are being handled by a centrally based local government scanning facility in Nottingham which processes documents on behalf of many local authorities across the United Kingdom.

Councillor Mohammed Jamil, deputy leader and cabinet member for finance and corporate governance at Peterborough City Council, said: "We are undertaking this review to ensure that households who are not eligible for single person discount are paying the full amount.

"Larger households need to pay more as they use more council services, which costs the council more money. It's not fair that taxpayers who pay the correct amount of Council Tax are receiving a lesser service, because others are knowingly, or unknowingly paying less than they should."

About the review

The council says it is important to ensure that the large number of single person discounts are being correctly awarded and that there are no cases where the discount is being claimed incorrectly, knowingly or otherwise.

"This review exercise will enable us to correct awards, via customers volunteering updated information regarding occupancy and also to investigate further into cases where we have reason to believe there may not be eligibility to the discount," says the council.

Legislation exists which allows discounts to be cancelled, and backdated Council Tax to be recovered. Those who are proved to have knowingly defrauded the system may also face prosecution.

Letters to residents

The council will now be verifying all accounts currently in receipt of Single Person Discount and where necessary issuing letters to residents, asking for them to confirm their current circumstances. 

Checks will be made to ensure everyone who claims the discount is genuine. 

How to complete your review

If you do not respond to the review within 14 days you will have your single person discount removed and further investigations may be undertaken.

Respond by text message

The quickest and most convenient way to make your declaration is by text message to 07975 005001.

Enter your six-digit PIN number provided on the letter, followed by a space, followed by either Yes or No.

Yes - if you are still the sole adult occupant at this property.

No - if you are no longer the sole adult occupant OR have vacated the property.

Respond online

You can confirm your current details using the online form. To access the form you will need to enter your unique PIN number. You can find this PIN number on the letter we have sent to you.

Respond by post

You can complete the form on the back of your letter and return it to:

Income and Awards Review
PO Box 11326
Nottingham
NG1 9RE

Please note: Do not return your form to the council offices.

Contact us

If you need to speak to an advisor about your review, please call 0808 812 6763.