September 29 2022

It could take four years for Hackney Council to recover taxes it was unable to collect from thousands of residents after a cyberattack almost two years ago, the local authority has said.

The east London council suffered a major cyberattack in October 2020 that knocked out several of its digital systems, including its council tax system.

The incident left people who moved to or within the borough unable to register for council tax or update their details with the local authority.

The system has only recently been restored, meaning that some residents in the Borough have not have paid any council tax, or have not paid the correct amount, for more than 18 months.

The Council estimates that between 10,000 and 15,000 residents were prevented from registering for council tax or registering updates to their council tax accounts, suggesting that potentially thousands of residents owe money to the Labour-controlled local authority.

Latest government statistics show that Hackney, which has a population of 300,000, collected 84% of the council tax that it should have in 2020/21, almost 10 percentage points less than collected in the preceding year.

In 2021/22 the Council collected just 64% of Council Tax due - the lowest collection rate for any local authority in England by 20%.

Hackney Council says that it eventually expects to recover 95% of the council tax it is owed for the affected period, which covers the 2020/21 and 2021/22 tax years, but that this process could take another four years.

Council staff have recently written to affected residents to inform them of what they owe and setting out how it should be repaid.

Any bills will put further pressure on residents facing rising living costs, with a household that moved to a Band D property in Hackney in October 2020 potentially being more than £2,300 in arrears. That sum would not include the £1,670 owed for the current tax year.

However, the council says support, including personalised repayment plans, is available on request.

A council spokesperson said: “We are all fully aware that the current cost of living crisis is putting the household budgets of many of our residents under immense pressure.

“This is why we are working with all our residents to ensure they are aware of the support available to them and to help arrange bespoke plans to enable them to pay their council tax and other bills in a sustainable and affordable way.”

The Council has previously estimated the cost of the cyberattack, including restoring systems and processing backlogs, at £10 million.