Issue - meetings

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance, Governance and Organisation.

RESOLVED – that the Executive approves:

(i) That nine irrecoverable debts totalling £206,919.56 (Annex 1) be written out of the Council’s accounts.

The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Organisation, Councillor Lewanski, introduced the Debt Write Off & Recovery 2023/24 report which recommended the write-off of 9 debts valued at £206,919.56.

The circumstances surrounding each debt were set out in the report and Councillor Lewanski reassured Members that all possible recovery action had been taken in each of these cases. The Council takes debt recovery very seriously and works with a company or individual if they get into difficulty to make every effort to conclude the matter. The Council will always use all tools that the law allows to recover a debt until it becomes impossible, unlawful or uneconomic to do so.

The Council Tax or Business Rates debts are only a fraction of the total amount as the Council only retains less than one-twelfth of the income from each Council Tax bill. Of the £51.7m of Business Rates collected each year, the Council only keeps around £2.5m.

The write-off is essentially an accounting process to protect the Council against misstatement of the accounts. In all cases – and in line with Council policy – write-off is recommended only when all possible avenues have been exhausted. If further information is received or if the circumstances surrounding a debt change, then it will be pursued again.

The write-off represent less than one per cent of the Council’s annual budget and the local authority remains a high performing Council when it comes to debt recovery, with a record that makes Reigate and Banstead Borough Council one of the best in the country.

The Leader and Members passed on their thanks to the Head of Revenue, Benefits and Fraud, Simon Rosser, and his team who were held in very high regard for the efficiency with which Council Tax is collected. This collection rate was much higher than other local authorities and it was one of the best teams in the country.

A Visiting Member asked for clarification of the circumstances whereby the Council is owed money on business rates from a firm that was based in Hong Kong. Officers confirmed that the company was operating in the borough at the time when the debt arose.

RESOLVED – that the Executive approves:

(i) That nine irrecoverable debts totalling £206,919.56 (Annex 1) be written out of the Council’s accounts.