Decisions

This report details Officers decisions under delegated powers to authorise write offs less than £10,000 in line with the constitution and the Financial Regulations.

The write offs relate to Business Rates, Council Tax, Housing Benefit, Housing Rents and Sundry Debtors. The total value of monies owed which have been written off by officers for the financial year 2019/20 is £262,768 of this £138,276 has a direct financial impact on the Council.

All of the amounts written off have been through the council’s recovery process and proved to be either unrecoverable or uneconomical to pursue any further.

RESOLVED to note the contents of the Financial Write Offs report

LCTS replaced Council Tax Benefit (CTB) from 1 April 2013. The Council has adopted a scheme which has the following key elements:

a)    Pensioners on low income protected from adverse changes (as required by Government)

b)    Disabled people, carers and blind people on a low income receive discretionary protection from adverse changes

c)    Working age people previously on full CTB pay no more than 12.5% of the council tax bill

d)    £25 per week of earned wages income disregarded from assessment (to provide a work incentive)

e)    Child Benefit and Child Maintenance disregarded from assessment (to minimise exacerbation of child poverty, or accusations of same)

f)     Hardship Policy to enable additional support for genuine extreme hardship cases

RESOLVED that the Local Council Tax Support Scheme proposals for consultation for 2021/22 are set on the same basis as 2020/21:

                               I.        The contribution rate is frozen for the sixth consecutive year at 12.5%.

                              II.        The Council continues to protect Vulnerable and Disabled Residents and Carer’s on a low income.