A LIBERAL Democrat councillor has slammed Lewisham Council after it failed to collect nearly £6m in council tax last year.

Lewisham ranks third from bottom out of 33 London boroughs with £5,831,000 council tax not collected out of an expected £95,911,000 for 2011/12, the latest figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government reveal.

The borough’s collection rate of 93.9 per cent compares to a London average of 96.3 per cent and a national average of 97.3 per cent. The inner London borough average is 95.4 percent.

Greenwich is not much higher standing at 27th place with £4,589,000 outstanding from an expected £85,077,000 - giving it a 94.6 percent collection rate.

Cllr Chris Maines said: "At a time when the council is cutting funding to libraries, nurseries and other front line services; the failure to collect almost £6 million a year in potential revenue is completely unacceptable."

A spokesman for Lewisham Council said: "We are the fourth most improved borough in Inner London for council tax collection, making improvements every year.

"Collecting council tax in these tough economic times presents a particular challenge. We pursue outstanding payments where possible and offer advice and flexible payment plans to residents who experience difficulties in paying."

The statistics were calculated by subtracting the total receipts of council tax from the estimated net collectable debit for the period 2011 to 31 March 2012.