MORE than £630,000 of Council Tax went uncollected by East Cambridgeshire District Council last year. The total figure, £638,000, is £217,000 greater than the amount that went uncollected in the previous financial year and is a matter of grave concern f

MORE than £630,000 of Council Tax went uncollected by East Cambridgeshire District Council last year.

The total figure, £638,000, is £217,000 greater than the amount that went uncollected in the previous financial year and is a matter of "grave concern" for the council.

The money is to be spent on essential services such as rubbish collection, transport, street lights and social services.

More than £4 million went uncollected across Cambridgeshire.

Every other district council, other than Huntingdonshire, has managed to get its collection rate up from the previous financial year.

Alex Colyer, ECDC's executive director for finance, legal and democratic services said: "This is a matter of grave concern for the council and was one of the reasons why we joined the award-winning Anglia Revenues Partnership along with Breckland and Forest Heath District Council.

"The switch over to the new partnership took place earlier this year. We usually chase up unpaid Council Tax at the end of the year, but because of this changeover, we haven't been able to do that as much as we usually do.

"But we are already seeing a significant impact on the backlog of arrears with old cases being tackled as a priority. We are confident that next year will see a big improvement in the levels of Council Tax being collected."

The bulk of the money collected goes to Cambridgeshire County Council.