Defence Secretary John Healey has acknowledged he underpaid £1,500 in council tax due to an ‘administrative error’ by Westminster Council.
Mr Healey was supposed to pay around £3,000 annually in council tax for his rented second home but only paid half of the required amount.
‘The Secretary of State fulfilled all his obligations as a tenant by notifying Westminster Council of the second home status of the tenancy on the council tax registration form when the tenancy began,’ said a spokesperson for the defence secretary.
‘Westminster Council made an administrative error which failed to classify it as a second home for council tax purposes and led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued. The council has accepted fault and apologised for the error.’
The spokesperson added: ‘Westminster Council have rectified this mistake and the council tax liability, including the second homes surcharge, on the London flat has been paid in full.’
A Westminster City Council spokesperson said: 'The Secretary of State filled in in the form correctly and registered the address as a second home. There was an oversight by the Council and we did not register it as a second home. This led to an incorrect council tax notice being issued. We apologise for the error.'
