Issue - meetings
Annual Corporate Debt Monitoring Performance Report 2024/25
Meeting: 04/09/2025 - Finance and Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee (Item 8)
8 Annual Corporate Debt Monitoring Performance Report 2024/25 
PDF 720 KB
Minutes:
The Deputy Section 151 Officer presented the report to the Committee.
The main sources of income for the Council’s General Fund (GF) were Business Rates, Council Tax, a small number of government grants, and service-related income. The main source of income for the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was dwelling rent, often referred to as ‘housing rents’.
Examples of types of income included housing benefit overpayment, trade refuse, industrial unit rent, garage site rent, wardens service and alarms, and leisure hire of facilities.
This income was reported in two amounts with housing benefit overpayments identified separately from the rest.
Table 1 of the report detailed the sources of income for the Council at 31st March for the two financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25 for comparison:
|
|
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
|
|
|
position at end of |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Variance |
|
|
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Non-Domestic Rates |
(30,709) |
(35,770) |
(5,061) * |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Council Tax |
(51,148) |
(54,667) |
(3,519) ** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Housing Rents |
(22,852) |
(25,027) |
2,175 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overpaid housing benefits |
(1,324) |
(1,139) |
185 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sundry Debtors |
(18,980) |
(14,428) |
(4,552) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(125,013) |
(131,031) |
(6,018) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
* This was 100%, the Council’s share of this was 40% |
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** This was 100%, the Council’s share of this was 17.28% 2023/24 + 17.62% 2024/25 |
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The figures in Table 1 showed an increase in income billed in the year for most sources. The reduction in income from housing benefit overpayments was good news – less claimants had received too much benefit, resulting in the Council having less income to reclaim.
The decrease in the sundry debtor’s income was almost certainly due to the Dragonfly Companies’ invoices raised being less in 2024/25 now that the arrangements with both companies were established.
Debt management was how the Council managed its arrears and debtors. Table 2 of the report detailed the level of arrears for the Council at 31st March for the two financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25:
|
|
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
|
position at end of |
Q4 |
Q4 |
Variance |
|
|
£'000 |
£'000 |
£'000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
National Non-Domestic Rates |
951,932 |
1,298,027 |
346,095 * |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Council Tax |
5,574,252 |
5,931,170 |
356,918 ** |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Housing Rents |
1,736,048 |
1,669,853 |
(66,195) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Overpaid housing benefits |
1,324,478 |
1,153,141 |
(171,337) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sundry Debtors |
1,026,101 |
1,135,776 |
109,675 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10,612,811 |
11,187,967 |
575,156 |
The figures in Table 2 showed arrears had increased in 2024/25 for National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR), Council Tax and sundry debtors. Individuals and businesses were still struggling to pay, depending on their individual circumstances – payment plans had been agreed to help debtors not get into arrears if possible.
The current levels of arrears for NNDR and Council Tax were the highest they had been in recent years, and sundry debtor arrears fluctuated depending on if large invoices were raised close to the 31st of March of the financial year but not paid until the April of the following financial year.
For the last 4 years when the impairment allowance levels had been assessed at year’s end, the Council had increased them by over £3m in total (as a result of the financial effect of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic (the ‘Pandemic’) and Cost of Living Crisis ... view the full minutes text for item 8