As the council launches a review into people claiming single person discount on their council tax, residents are being asked to step forward if they are no longer entitled to it.

The council is set to undertake a review of claims in partnership with an external data company, targeting those residents whose circumstances are most likely to have changed and who may therefore no longer be eligible for the discount.

Anyone who is incorrectly claiming the discount will be asked to repay the difference for every month when they have paid too little.  Rather than being hit by a larger bill when the review concludes it will be in those residents’ interests to step forward now.

Councillor Stephen Parnaby OBE, leader of the council said “This is an opportunity for our residents to contact us if they think they should not be entitled to single person discount before we undertake the review exercise. We will write to residents over the next few months who are claiming a single person discount, to determine whether they do, in fact, have an entitlement to the discount.”

Residents who live alone are entitled to a 25 per cent discount on their council tax bill.

There are also groups of people such as students who are not counted for the purposes of council tax. Houses which have only one non-student, or which are entirely made up of students, will attract a discount.

There are currently 34,000 residents claiming the single person discount – this is around 22 per cent of the total households in the East Riding with an approximate value of £11.3m.

The council is committed to maintaining as low a council tax as possible and has an obligation to ensure that its residents only receive the discounts they are entitled to.

Any residents who think they may not be entitled to single person discount should contact the council’s customer contact team on 01482 394747, or e-mail council.tax@eastriding.gov.uk