HCC 06/16 - Provision of Council Tax Discount and Exemptions Reviews

Hertfordshire County Council and the ten District Councils require a service which reviews whether claimants are entitled to various discounts and exemptions, as well as any additional searches for the council tax discount schemes.

For the single person discount, if claimants are found to be incorrectly claiming a discount on council tax by stating that they are a single person and should receive the 25% discount when they should not, then this discount should be removed. Claimants can re-apply for any discount post review and the District Council will require monitoring of all re-applications.

For the empty Homes discount/exemptions, if residents are found to be incorrectly claiming a discount on an empty property, by living in a property which they have formerly said is 'empty and unfurnished' or ‘uninhabitable’, then this discount may be removed. Properties incorrectly classified as long term empty reduce the new homes bonus grant that can be claimed by local authorities.

The District Council may also require reviews of student exemptions to ensure that students are claiming the appropriate council tax discount dependent upon their residential living circumstances.

In addition, the District Council may require a review of residents claiming the council tax reduction scheme ('CTRS') discount to ensure their circumstances have not changed or where they have changed to amend them.

Hertfordshire County Council will lead on the procurement of these services and manage the Framework on behalf of:

Additional information: Is a Recurrent Procurement Type? : No https://in-tendhost.co.uk/supplyhertfordshire/aspx/