Cash-strapped council behind on tax collection

Slough Borough Council is  behind in collecting council tax according to new report

A cash-strapped council is still behind target for collecting council tax, a new report has said.

Slough Borough Council is hundreds of thousands of pounds behind its collection target, according to figures presented to cabinet.

The report to council leaders said the shortfall came as "residents continue to struggle with cost of living increases", adding that there was a "similar trend across Berkshire councils".

In February, five of the six councils in the county were either behind target or not keeping pace with previous years.

Slough Borough Council, West Berkshire Council and Reading Borough Council all suggested that cost of living pressures might have affected residents' ability to pay.

A Slough Borough Council spokesperson told the LDRS in February it was 0.96% behind its 63.8% collection target by the end of December last year, which was worth £906,000.

The latest report, presented to council leaders on Monday, suggests the gap has grown.

It said Slough Borough Council had now collected 79.95% of last year's council tax - 1.05% behind its 81% target.

The report said the council was supporting residents who were struggling to pay.

A spokesperson for the authority said: "The council continues to support those who require longer to pay, closely monitoring the recovery status on in-year arrears, moving along the recovery process as quickly as we can while providing support to council taxpayers that reach out to us.

"These accounts will continue to be monitored."