PEOPLE in Inverclyde who owe unpaid council tax and registered to take part in the independence referendum could soon be hit with bill demands.

Inverclyde’s Depute Provost, Councillor David Wilson, says officials have confirmed to him that they are checking voter registration details specifically because an extra 5,000 registered for the referendum.

He says the aim is to find people who are avoiding paying council tax.

Councillor Wilson has welcomed the move.

He told the Telegraph: “Inverclyde and other councils are right to take this step to uncover fraud.” The Tory councillor said the number of Inverclyde people registered to vote rose from 57,000 to 62,000 during the referendum campaign.

He added: “Some people may have been claiming a 25 per cent council tax discount by saying they are living in a property on their own, but these checks could now show that one of the new voters is actually living with them — so they should not be receiving the discount.

“Cross-referencing the new voters could also find people living in properties which were previously believed to be unoccupied, and were not believed to be liable for council tax.

“In both sets of circumstances, the checks could result in extra cash flowing into the council — and this is only right, because everyone should pay their fair share for council services.

“This could turn out to be an unexpected windfall for Inverclyde and other councils.” Despite Councillor Wilson’s remarks about the discussions he says he has had with Municipal Buildings officials, a council spokesman today denied that checks are specifically being carried out because of the big surge in voters.

He said: “The electoral register is routinely used to cross-reference council tax records.

“This is not a new or reactive measure in light of the increased number of people registering to vote for the referendum. “The only way changes to the voters’ roll would affect current council tax collections is if residents were, for example, registering at an address which was previously unoccupied or if someone was in receipt of a single person discount and another person was then registered at that address.” While unpaid council tax can be pursued, First Minister Alex Salmond announced this week that the Scottish Government is to ban all local authorities from chasing people for poll tax debts, which date back more than 20 years.

Inverclyde Council already has a policy in place of not pursuing poll tax debts.