Slough Borough Council had collected more than £1 million less in council tax than it had hoped to halfway through the year, a new report has revealed.

The council says it has received fewer prepayments than this time last year as ‘residents are struggling with cost of living increases’.

It comes after people in Slough were hit with a council tax increase of 8.5 per cent last year and 10 per cent the year before, and as council leaders consider cutting discounts for the poorest families.

However Slough Borough Council says council tax collection rates in all authorities in Berkshire are behind where they were last year.

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The revelation comes in a report to council leaders on spending and income between July and September – the second quarter of the financial year.

It said that by the end of September the council had collected 54.26 per cent of the total council tax it will be owed when the financial year ends next April. This is 1.24 per cent behind target, which the report says ‘equates to £1,193 million in cash terms’.

It also says that council tax prepayments are down by £525,000 compared to the same period last year. But the report adds that the council expected to be closer to the target by October.

Council leaders are set to debate the report at a meeting on Monday, November 14.