A NORFOLK council has begun checking up on recipients of a council tax discount scheme, which could save the authority thousands of pounds and cut fraud.
A NORFOLK council has begun checking up on recipients of a council tax discount scheme, which could save the authority thousands of pounds and cut fraud.
South Norfolk Council has started the checks on the 15,000 tax payers who get a single occupier reduction on their council tax bills, which is worth a total of nearly �5m.
The district council has now appointed a company to perform data checks to ensure that those who are receiving the discount are living alone.
Garry Wheatley, cabinet member for resources at South Norfolk, said the council would work to ensure that all overpaid discounts, whether in error or fraud, will be paid back.
“We ask residents what they expected of their council, and they say value for money. That also means efficient payment of benefits to people who are genuinely entitled to them.”
“So where we uncover error or fraud, our residents expect us to take quick and effective action. This data checking exercise does just that,” he said.
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