Vulnerable residents in south west London are falling into unmanageable council tax arrears because they are not claiming discounts they are eligible for, opposition councillors have claimed.

Green councillors have called on Lib Dem-run Richmond Council to change its processes to avoid placing an "unfair burden" on vulnerable residents who might not know they are entitled to support.

Some residents are eligible for a discount of up to 100 per cent on their council tax in Richmond, but they must apply to the council to claim this as it is not applied automatically.

If residents do not pay the outstanding sum on a reminder letter or final notice, they are sent a court summons with added legal costs.

Green Councillor Chas Warlow tabled a motion on Tuesday (7 October) stating the authority had issued more than 7,000 summonses to residents who had not paid council tax in each of the last three years – including vulnerable families who were eligible for a discount, but had not claimed it.

The motion said this was placing an "unfair burden" on struggling residents.

It called for the council to automatically backdate reductions in council tax when a retrospective assessment has proven the person's entitlement, instead of sending them a summons.

Green councillors told the meeting they felt there were flaws in the council's processes which they wanted to see improved, also including reviewing the clarity of reminders sent to residents to clearly advise where they could find support.

They suggested automatic checks on whether residents were entitled to discounts should be carried out before sending a summons.

Cllr Warlow said: "Households that, for whatever reason, do not engage with the council directly upon receipt of a summons are then in much greater trouble.

"They are liable to pay the legal costs on top of the unpaid council tax, plus the cost of enforcement against them."

He added: "The process has left some of our most vulnerable residents in severe and unmanageable debt."

But Lib Dem councillors said the authority's processes were as fair and proactive as possible.

The administration originally reinstated the 100 per cent discount on council tax for eligible residents after taking control of the authority from the Conservatives in 2018.

Lib Dem councillor Jim Millard said the authority had since revised the council tax reduction scheme to make it "simpler and fairer" and help more residents.

He said the authority had introduced a low income family tracker to proactively identify those who might be missing out on support, which had so far saved the most vulnerable £8million overall.

Councillor Millard said the authority intervened as much as possible to inform people of the support they could receive, but for those who "slipped through the net" the council paused the summons, reassessed their circumstances and backdated their arrears by up to six months where possible.

He added: "We don't want vulnerable residents who deserve council tax exemptions to have to go through the summons process, but it's important to remember the context – why summonses exist at all.

"There's a huge job every year in collecting council taxes due. We work very hard to distinguish between those who can't pay and those who won't pay."

Councillor Millard stated the authority's approach was "as far reaching and fair… as you'll find anywhere in the country".

Lib Dem councillor Robin Brown added: "I doubt there's another council in the country that does more than we do to support individual residents with some of their challenges with council tax."

The Greens' motion was not passed at the meeting.

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