During August Tandridge District Council is reviewing council tax discounts, as part of an initiative being carried out by Surrey's districts and boroughs and Surrey County Council, to update records for those claiming a single person discount.

In Tandridge more than 10,500 taxpayers living alone claim a 25% reduction on their Council Tax. Research has shown that nationally up to 5% of single person discount claims are fraudulent or not valid.

The Council will write to many of the households who get a single person discount. Data from the electoral roll and credit applications will be used as part of the checks and some claimants may also receive a follow up telephone call. Anyone failing to respond will have their discount cancelled.

If there are cases where discounts have been claimed fraudulently or a change of circumstances has not been notified to the Council, further action may be taken.

Any resident who thinks they may no longer be entitled to a council tax discount, or who thinks they should be getting a discount, should contact the Council Tax Team on 01883 732932, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Councillor Martin Fisher, Chairman of the Resources Committee, said: "The council has a legal and social responsibility to ensure it collects all the council tax due. Any discount given to residents reduces the revenue we are able to collect, so we need to ensure only those people due a discount are awarded one."