More than £3 million in unpaid council tax is owed from the last financial year.
A freedom of information (FOI) request submitted to Westmorland and Furness Council reveals 5,365 accounts were outstanding from the 2023/24 financial year with a total of £3.28 million in uncollected council tax as of November 25.
Westmorland and Furness Council said it was still actively collecting outstanding 2023/24 council tax.
A spokesperson added: “The collection of a small portion of the council tax typically continues beyond the financial year it is for, where people are unable to pay in full at that time. The council may have agreed an arrangement to pay and bring the account up-to-date, or there may be other actions in place to recover the amounts owed.
“At the end of 2023/24, the amount that was still being collected was £4.681m. That has been reduced to £3.279m, equivalent to 1.7% of the total council tax liability for 2023/24 and this will continue to reduce.
“We, like local authorities across the UK, rely on council tax to fund public services. If people are struggling to pay their bills, we would always encourage them to speak to us and explore whether they qualify for any reductions, exemptions or benefits.”
In November, members of the cabinet for Westmorland and Furness Council approved proposals to continue the council tax reduction scheme for the 2025/26 financial year.
It allows up to a 100 per cent discount for pensioners and those of working age on low incomes.
The report prepared for the cabinet says: “The proposed scheme will continue to provide up to 100% maximum entitlement, providing vital support to residents who are financially disadvantaged, linking closely with our Council Plan priorities.”
The report adds the current council tax reduction scheme has received 12, 545 claims as of the end of September with the estimated cost of reduction of £15,327,502 for the next financial year.
Plans to continue to provide a 100 per cent voluntary disregard to war disablement pensions, war widows pensions and war widowers’ pensions were also approved.
The cabinet also approved granting a voluntary disregard to those under the armed forces compensation scheme.
According to the report prepared for the cabinet, the local authority is one of a small number of councils continuing to offer up to 100 per cent support from the local council tax reduction scheme for working age claimants.
Cabinet members for Westmorland and Furness Council also recently launched a budget consultation for the 2025/26 financial year which includes plans to increase council tax by 4.99 per cent.
The proposed rise in council tax consists of a 2.99 per cent general increase as well as a two per cent increase for adult social care.
Councils in England, which provide adult social care services, can raise tax rates by up to five per cent. Local authorities who want to increase council tax above this level must hold a referendum on the proposal.
Cabinet members for Westmorland and Furness Council agreed to launch the consultation on December 17 at Barrow Town Hall and it will run to January 17.
by Dan Hunt (Local Democracy Reporting Service)
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