Human error behind early council tax payments

Human error was behind the early collection of January council tax and business rates by a council in East Sussex, it has been revealed.

Direct debits for the payments were taken on 27 December 2024 rather than on 2 January 2025 by Wealden District Council.

Council leader Rachel Millward apologised for the "stress and inconvenience" the error caused to residents over the Christmas period.

The authority said it had implemented recommendations to ensure it never happened again following an investigation report by internal auditors.

These included extra checks and new procedure rules. For example, having two people involved in the process of scheduling direct debit payments, a practice which had stopped for unknown reasons, the council said.

The risk of not administering direct debits correctly and on scheduled dates has also been added to the council's risk register.

The investigation report, which is to be discussed at the council's overview and scrutiny committee meeting on 13 January, is the first in a series of reports requested by the council cabinet to understand what went wrong and what can be done to improve things in the future.

Ms Millward: "We are just so sorry this happened, and we are today implementing the necessary changes to ensure this never happens again.

"We also know that we have more to do, such as effectively communicating with residents about these issues in the future."

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