Council and MP Campaign for a Change of Heart on Student Council Tax

Through joint representations to central government, Welwyn Hatfield Council and MP Grant Shapps have campaigned for the issue of student Council Tax exemptions to be taken seriously. They are now hopeful of a successful outcome for Welwyn Hatfield tax payers.

Grant Shapps and Councillor Richard Smith went to visit Phil Woolas at the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) earlier in the year to protest at the unfair treatment of the area as a result of the government failing to compensate properly for loss of revenue to the council when houses were occupied by students.

Following subsequent meetings with senior civil servants and officers from WHBC, the DCLG have issued a letter requesting data which will validate the case and potentially lead to a change in the regulations.

The effect on the borough could be approximately an additional £80,000 in a government grant. The county council could get an additional £700,000 and the police an additional £60,000. The earliest that this grant would be announced is December 2007 and is dependent upon a successful evaluation of the data.

Grant Shapps, MP for Welwyn Hatfield, said "Hatfield residents have frequently complained that we all lose out because students are exempt from paying council tax, but still use the services. Whilst the government continued to claim that the local tax payer was fully compensated for this shortfall, I remained sceptical.

"I had investigated the matter for some years when I suddenly had a eureka moment. It occurred to me that the problem we faced was that the government requested student numbers before many students had registered themselves with the council as being exempt each year. As a result, the government's figures lagged behind the real number of students and Welwyn Hatfield – along with all other university towns in Britain – was therefore short-changed.

"Once I became our MP I took the opportunity to present this startling research to a government minister who promised to review the way that the student council tax exemption operated. Today I'm delighted to note that the government have taken into account representations that I made jointly with Welwyn Hatfield Council and have indeed changed the system for measuring student exemptions. The final stage is for the government to act on the newly collected data and ensure that they pay us the difference. The upshot of all this work should be a saving to the Welwyn Hatfield tax payer."

Councillor Richard Smith, Welwyn Hatfield Council’s Executive Member for Resources, said: “I am delighted that our joint efforts have led to a potential government rethink of the currently unfair exemptions system. If the government act upon the information they are now evaluating, the additional funds that the borough, county and police will gain from a grant will be a great boon to residents. We will continue to work with our MP to ensure the proposed grant is realised.”