Solihull Council has recently written off more than £560,000 in historic unpaid debts, highlighting ongoing challenges in debt recovery for local authorities. This decision was approved at a cabinet portfolio holder meeting on March 23, focusing on debts exceeding £10,000.
Councillor Bob Sleigh, responsible for the resources portfolio, acknowledged the complexities in recovering these funds, which include council tax, business rates, sundry income, and housing benefit arrears. Due to confidentiality, detailed discussions on specific debts took place in a private session.
In addition to the larger amounts, senior council officers have authority to write off unrecoverable debts below £10,000. Between October and December last year, debts totaling £258,755 were written off under this process by Andrew Felton, the Council’s Director of Resources.
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The council maintains a proactive stance toward debt collection. According to the officers’ report: “We pursue recovery through legal action, tracing, and collection agencies wherever possible. Debts are only written off when all further recovery efforts have been exhausted.”
This write-off follows a previous financial year in which Solihull Council discharged £2.44 million in uncollected debts. Authorities are expected to review the total debt figures for the current year at a scheduled meeting in the summer, continuing oversight on this critical financial matter.