Published on:
01
June 2012
Clackmannanshire Council has improved the ways it collects income, seeing the amount of money it is owed fall by over £600,000 since last year.
While the national average rates of council tax collection have fallen over the past three years, Clackmannanshire's collection levels have continued to improve. In 2010/11 the Council collected 95.2% of council tax owed, up from 93.3% in 2010/11.
When it comes to non domestic rates (also known as business rates), Clackmannanshire is above the national average, with 97.36% collected in 2011/12, compared to 96.89% in 2010/11.
The amount owed to us in sundry debts has reduced by £450,000 since last year, although there has been a slight drop in the rates of collection for sundry debts. Sundry debts cover services such as music tuition, commercial refuse, home help and meals on wheels. In 2011/12, this was 83.7%, down from 91.2% in 2010/11.
Council Leader Gary Womersley said: "I very much see these much needed improvements as a result of the strong Bad Debt and Write Off Policy introduced and the proactive approach being taken by our revenues team, working with other services and the Sheriff Officer to contact customers early and centralising and standardising the way we collect debt. I'm delighted that we are making progress, which puts us in a stronger position. However, there is still work to do, particularly preparing for the impact of the forthcoming welfare reform .
"Unfortunately, there will always be some debts where, despite having made every effort to contact the debtor, we have not recovered the money. In some cases, it becomes more cost effective to write off the debt than to continue to pursue it. I am pleased that we are writing off less debt this year, than in previous years and as our new approach sees more effective collection."