Bromley is checking the 25% council tax discount against the electoral roll and credit records, and writing to households. Blue Badges top its fraud work.
Bromley households claiming the single person council tax discount may get a letter asking who lives with them. The council is checking the discount against the full electoral roll and credit records.
The exercise is set out in the counter fraud report that went to the Audit and Risk Management Committee on Tuesday 3 November. The council’s revenues and benefits contractor is writing to households flagged as a possible match. It is asking the person liable for the bill to give details of who lives there.
A match is not a finding. The report says households are prioritised on risk, and that some cases will then go to the fraud team, depending on what comes back. Outcomes will be reported to the committee. The report does not say how many letters are going out.
The discount is 25% off the bill if you live alone, or if everyone else in your home is disregarded for council tax.
What the fraud team has done so far this year
The team, run for Bromley by the Royal Borough of Greenwich, took 93 referrals from April to September. The largest groups were:
- 53 about Blue Badges
- 12 about couples said to be living together
- 3 each about council tax, disability, undeclared income and vacated addresses
It passed 24 benefit allegations to the Department for Work and Pensions. At the end of September, 59 investigations were open, some from earlier years. Of those, 44 were Blue Badge cases.
On council tax, £9,262.27 in exemptions has been removed and added back to bills. That covers two single person discounts and one home wrongly recorded as unoccupied. A separate Council Tax Support claim was ended and backdated, recovering nearly £3,000.
Blue Badge cases are down on their peak
The report defines misuse as using a stolen, counterfeit or dead person’s badge to park. It lists three possible outcomes: prosecution, a caution or a warning letter.
| Year | Prosecutions | Warnings | Cautions | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50 | 8 | 5 | 63 |
| 2023/24 | 78 | 17 | 7 | 102 |
| 2024/25 | 129 | 13 | 0 | 142 |
| 2025/26 | 81 | 32 | 2 | 115 |
| April to September 2026 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 34 |
Prosecutions from April to September brought £6,361 in fines, £2,644 in costs and £5,765 in victim surcharge. Nine badges were handed back in the same period. The Cabinet Office values a badge at a notional £675 a year, which the council counts as £6,075 of fraud prevented.
What comes next
- National Fraud Initiative: the council has uploaded its data for the Cabinet Office’s two-yearly matching exercise, and expects results in December. It matches pensions, payroll, care and housing records, among others.
- Crisis Resilience Fund: one false application was refused before £600 was paid. The report warns there is evidence that such schemes are at risk of being targeted by organised crime groups across the country, and says specific counter fraud work is planned.
- Staff holding two jobs: one allegation came in. The council also takes part in a quarterly London data match between payroll and agency worker records.
What it means for you
If you get a letter, answer it, even if nothing has changed. If someone has moved in, tell the council. You can check your bill on our council tax bands page.
If your Blue Badge belonged to someone who has died, or you no longer need it, it should go back to the council.
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