Councillor urged to quit over unpaid council tax

A Derby councillor is facing calls to stand down over a number of missed council tax payments.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the Derby Conservatives showed that Labour councillor Gulfraz Nawaz had a series of missed payments that resulted in a court summons in November 2024.

Derby City Council confirmed the Arboretum councillor was now clear of arrears.

Nawaz said: "I can confirm that my council tax is up to date and I do not owe anything to Derby City Council."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service previously reported that Nawaz had failed to pay council tax in 2023.

A councillor cannot vote for a council budget if they have an outstanding council tax debt of more than two months under government rules.

The council said there were no arrears that would have prevented Nawaz from voting on budget or council tax matters throughout the period detailed in the FOI.

The documents show two reminder notices for payment sent in July and September 2023, and a final notice in November followed by a summons later that month.

A reminder notice was also issued in June and November 2024, followed by a final notice in December.

Another reminder was sent in May of this year.

The documents also state that "council tax for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 financial years were cleared on 18 December 2023 and 18 February 2025 respectively".

The leader of Derby Conservatives Steve Hassall urged Nawaz to "do the right thing and stand down".

"This man is a serial non-payer of council tax," he said. "To miss once is a mistake anyone can make, to do it several times just paints a picture and that he thinks the rules do not apply to him."

Derby Reform UK leader Tim Prosser echoed the comments.

"He should stand down if he is not prepared to respect the council. He is costing the council money and should be leading by example, as we are trying to encourage people to pay their council tax," he said.

The Labour leader of Derby City Council Nadine Peatfield said: "I find it disgraceful that both the opposition and press feel it's appropriate to shame someone over their financial situation, of which they know nothing about and is none of their business - especially when it has been confirmed that all payments are up to date."

The Labour Party would not comment.

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