£50m of council tax written off

London councils wrote off nearly £50million in unpaid council tax last year, new figures reveal.

According to data revealed in response to a parliamentary question, the worst performing borough was Haringey which missed out on almost £6.4 million in 2006/7.

Seven other boroughs wrote off £2 million or more in the same period - Brent, Hackney, Islington, Lewisham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Westminster.

This missing cash could otherwise have been spent on projects like improving parks and open space, better rubbish collections and investment in leisure facilities.

A spokesman for campaigning group the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "Councils spend a lot of money on tax collection, so it's unforgivable that they are still writing off so much in missed payments.

At a time when pensioners are being sent to jail for not being able to pay relatively small amounts, it is shocking that councils are happy to write off millions. Council tax is putting an unsustainable burden on ordinary families, and allowing this hole in the budget to continue adds to that burden."

The authorities which collected most of their council tax were the City of London - which has a very low population - followed by Richmond and Ealing.

Councils write off council tax debts if they are deemed to be irrecoverable - for example of the person who owes the money has died, gone abroad or is not traceable. They can also sign them off if somebody goes bankrupt, or if they are sent to prison.

The figures were revealed in an answer to Southend MP David Amness.

A spokesman from Haringay Council denied the £6.4 million figure represented unpaid tax in which should have been paid in 2006/07 and had been written off.

He said it "relates to the write off of old debt, in some cases going back more than 10 years".

"Haringey collects some 97 per cent of Council Tax, and chases every penny owing," he added.

"All local authorities will inevitably write off some debt, and this is included in budget planning and approved by our auditors."

COUNCIL TAX WRITTEN OFF IN 06/07 (IN THOUSANDS)

Barking & Dagenham - 957
Barnet - 1,534
Bexley - 603
Brent - 3,623
Bromley - 747
Camden - 1,603
City of London - 6
Croydon - 408
Ealing - 141
Enfield - -242
Greenwich - 1,007
Hackney - 2,133
Hammersmith & Fulham - 1,632
Haringey - 6,391
Harrow - 1,590
Havering - 1,135
Hillingdon - 997
Hounslow - 1,233
Islington - 2,616
Kensington & Chelsea - 830
Kingston upon Thames - 1,543
Lambeth - 1,957
Lewisham - 2,920
Merton - 743
Newham - 1,266
Redbridge - 3,013
Richmond upon Thames - 123
Southwark - 1,583
Sutton - 370
Tower Hamlets - 988
Waltham Forest - 2,468
Wandsworth - 1,200
Westminster - 2,120
Total London - 49,238