Issue - meetings

The Board considered the Quarter 2 Monitoring of Write Offs Report and were informed by the Financial Services Manager that this was provided for noting only.

Members discussed the following areas in detail and officers were asked to provide further information on several points:-

• In respect of the write off of Sundry Debtors as detailed on page 26 of the agenda, Members requested a breakdown to include the number of debtors and transactions.
• Members noted the length of time taken in some cases to recover Council Tax arrears and the Financial Services Manager explained that these were recovered in various ways, for example through benefit payments or through an attachment of earnings.  In either case the amount recovered, often on a weekly basis, was minimal and therefore it could take a considerable time to recover the debt.
• Members discussed the debt support which was given to residents and the work of the Citizens Advice Bureau.
• In respect of the aged debt profile Members asked whether this was similar to the previous years and officers agreed to provide comparative data.

RESOLVED that the Quarter 2 Monitoring of Write Offs Report be noted.