NORTH EAST DERBYSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL AUDIT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 4 APRIL 2013

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1 6 NORTH EAST DERBYSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL AUDIT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 4 APRIL 2013 REPORT NO: DCR/07/13/BM OF THE DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RESOURCES 6(e) CORPORATE DEBT RECOVERY UPDATE Strategic Priority: Provide good value, high performing services 1 Recommendation(s) 1.1 That the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee note the report and make any comments that they believe to be appropriate with regards to the attached report which was taken to Cabinet on 13 March Executive Summary 2.1 To update Members of the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee concerning Corporate Debt Recover. The report attached is effectively the report taken to Cabinet for consideration, although it should be noted that reference to any individual debtors above 2,500 has been removed in order to enable this report to be considered in public session. Any comments expressed by the Committee will be taken into account in the next quarterly update of this report. 2.2 The report which will was taken to the Council s Cabinet 13 March 2013 is brought to the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee for its consideration. 3 Issues for Consideration 3.1 These are detailed in the report attached as Appendix 6(e)1. 4 Other Options Considered and Rejected 4.1 These are detailed in the report attached. 5 Other Supporting Information 5.1 Appendix 6(e)1 Cabinet 13 March 2013 Corporate Debt Recovery Update. 1

2 6 Financial Implications 6.1 These are detailed in the attached report. 7 Other Considerations (eg Legal, Human Resources, Environmental, Crime and Disorder, Design and Community Safety) 7.1 These are detailed in the attached report. 8 Equalities Issues 8.1 These are detailed in the attached report. 9 Risk Management and Policy and Performance Issues 9.1 These are detailed in the attached report. 10 Reason for Recommendations(s) 10.1 To ensure that the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee are kept informed of the Council s latest position regarding Corporate Debt. Background Papers Corporate Debt Recovery Update Cabinet Report AGIN6(e)(A&CGC0404)Cor Debt 2

3 NORTH EAST DERBYSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL CABINET 13 MARCH 2013 REPORT NO: PRK/13/13/BM OF COUNCILLOR P KERRY PORTFOLIO MEMBER FOR ECONOMY AND FINANCE 11(b) CORPORATE DEBT RECOVERY UPDATE Appendix 6(e)1 Strategic Priority: Provide good value, high performing services 1 Recommendation(s) 1.1 That Cabinet agrees to write off the amounts identified in the report, and notes the write offs previously agreed under delegated powers as summarised in Appendix 1 Table That Cabinet notes the progress that has been made in respect of debt recovery arrangements and requests that an update report based on the non- confidential information be reported to the next meeting of the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee for its consideration. 1.3 That Cabinet requests that the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee continue to receive quarterly reports concerning the position in respect of outstanding debt, and that Cabinet continues to receive appropriate management information at regular intervals. 2 Executive Summary 2.1 To update Cabinet concerning progress in respect of Corporate Debt Recovery. 2.2 To recommend the write off of a number of individual debts which are above the limit of 2,500 which can be written off by Officers in consultation with the Portfolio Member. 3 Progress in Improving Debtor Management 3.1 At its meeting of 11 June 2008 Cabinet requested that the Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee oversee the development and implementation of an Action Plan to improve the Council s position in respect of outstanding debt. This reflected Cabinet s concern with the position. A number of update reports have been provided to Cabinet since that date. This section of the report provides an overview of the progress that has been achieved. 3

4 3.2 Since June 2008 considerable progress has been made in addressing the issues which were identified as having generated a poor performance in respect of debt collection. The actions that were taken included the development and implementation of an Action Plan, improvements in the quality and availability of management information, changes in managerial arrangements, improvements in processes and systems, greater use of external collection agencies and regular formal reporting of progress to Members. 3.3 The progress that has been secured over the last three years is best summarised in Table 3 to this report which tracks a reduction in the level of debt over 90 days old from one of m in 2008/09 to one of 0.181m in December Given the extent of the backlog at the outset of this period officers have set out to secure a gradual improvement of the position by a combination of tackling older debt, while improving current systems and processes to ensure that further problems are not being allowed to develop in respect of debtor accounts which are currently being raised. While Appendix 1 Table 3 demonstrates that the progress that has been made is gradual, senior officers are of the view that this has resulted in embedded improvement being secured, and in particular it should be noted that the number of staff in the Section has been reduced by some 1 FTE (some 25%) over this period thus making a contribution to the Council s efficiency agenda. 3.4 Given the issues that have been identified regarding the Debtors function the active involvement of Internal Audit in the review of our Debtor processes and procedures has been encouraged. The most recent review of internal audit has resulted in the controls and processes being assessed as satisfactory, although further improvements in outcomes are still required. This gives further evidence demonstrating the ongoing improvement in the service. 3.5 Appendix 1 Table 3 sets out the improvement which has been secured in respect of Sundry Debtors over the last 4 financial years. Given the reduction in the level of non current debt, allied to the fact that the repayment arrangements are now in place in respect of the vast majority of the outstanding debt remaining the position has improved significantly from that which triggered the original Action Plan in June While current arrangements are fit for purpose it needs to be recognised that we need to ensure that current standards are maintained, and given the current economic climate there is likely to be an underlying trend of increasing difficulty in collecting outstanding debt. 3.6 Considering the importance of effective management of outstanding debt in the current economic climate officers have now expanded the scope of the monitoring reports to Audit and Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee to include both overpaid housing benefit and housing revenue account total indebtedness which includes council house rents arrears (see Appendix 1 Tables 4 and 5). The key issue to note about both of these areas is that overall debt levels are on a rising trend. In the case of Overpayment of Housing Benefits that partially reflects the fact that the current management information systems were only introduced some 3 years ago and as a consequence an additional year of processing has been included every year. However, it is also clear that the Council is seeing an upward rise in the amount of outstanding debt. This increasing trend partly reflects increases in housing rent levels and Cabinet should note that the majority of older debts are being recovered through an attachment of benefits order. However, the current adverse trend will need to be carefully managed. 4

5 With respect to the HRA the figure will fall be the end of the current financial year as tenants are required to continue paying during rent free weeks. On the basis that the year end figure for overall HRA indebtedness falls to one of 1.860m then the overall average increase across the year is one of 12% against an increase in rents of some 9.2% in 2012/13. Given the wider economic situation it is arguable that to maintain arrears at the current level does represent a reasonable level of performance. The reporting cycle for the corporate debt monitoring reports are now established on a quarterly basis. 4 Debt Recommended for Write Off HRA and General Fund 4.1 As part of the process of addressing the backlog of outstanding debt and as part of the ongoing routine debtor management it is necessary for the Council to consider writing off a number of individual debts where the prospect of recovering the amounts concerned is not considered to be realistic. Writing off of outstanding amounts is a key part of the effective management of debt in that it allows officers to review arrangements for collecting income promptly and learn from any mistakes, and enables officers to focus on those amounts which are collectable thus maximising overall levels of collection. Finally, it helps to ensure that the Council s Accounting Statements are not misleading. 4.2 Appendix 1 Table 1provides overall figures relating to write offs so far this financial year including amounts both over and above 2, With relation to the debtors of over 2,500 which have been written off with the agreement of Cabinet these relate to former tenant arrears and have been taken through debt collection agencies before approval to write off has been agreed. 4.4 Clearly the write offs that have been made and are proposed are above the level that is desirable. Cabinet should note that adequate provision for these write offs has been made within the Council s accounts and accordingly these write offs will not adversely impact on the revenue outturn position for the 2012/13 financial year. Officers believe that procedures are now in place which will minimise the level of bad debt write off going forward, with the anticipated level of General Fund provision for write off being in the region of 50,000 p.a. against a total value of sundry debtors raised each year of some 7m (excluding VAT). 4.5 Cabinet should note that in line with normal practice the writing off of these debts will be funded by charging them against the Provision for Doubtful debts, but in turn this requires that the level of that Provision be reviewed, and to the extent to which it is inadequate then a further charge from revenue accounts will be necessary. Cabinet should note that the adequacy of the Provision for Doubtful Debts needs to be considered against the level of Debt outstanding, and to the extent to which the recovery of those debtors is uncertain then an appropriate provision needs to be made. Thus, for example, if the Council had total debtors of 1m, and it seemed likely that only 50% would ultimately be recovered then a provision of some 0.5m would be required. 5. Debt Recommended for Write Off National Non Domestic Rates 5.1 In addition to the debts outlined above the Council acts as a collecting agent for National Non Domestic Rates collected from the business and commercial sector. 5

6 Work at the year end has identified a significant number of items that it is now considered to be appropriate to be written off. Individual amounts under 2,500 which will be written off under delegated powers amount to some 71,298 while a further 189, of individual amounts over 2,500 were recommended for write off in the report to Cabinet. Although these write offs are significant sum they need to be placed within the context of an annual income of some 15m while Cabinet should also note that subject to External Audit agreeing these write off s they will constitute a charge against the national pool rather than against this Council. 6 Other Supporting Information 6.1 The tables appended to this report give an overview of the current position with regard to outstanding debt. 7 Financial Implications 7.1 These are covered throughout the report. 8 Other Considerations (eg Legal, Human Resources, Environmental, Crime and Disorder, Design and Community Safety) 8.1 There are no legal issues arising directly from this report. 9 Equalities Issues 9.1 The Corporate Debt Recovery Strategy provides a framework which is intended to ensure that the Council s debt recovery activity is conducted in a manner consistent with best practice in equal opportunities. 10 Risk Management and Policy and Performance Issues 10.1 It is important that the Council s debt recovery actions are effectively undertaken both to maximise the level of financial resources which are available to the Council, and to ensure that we can demonstrate effective financial management. Failure to effectively manage debt recovery action will potentially increase both financial and reputational risk. Much of the content of this report is concerned with addressing a historic legacy of debt which had developed prior to While the writing off of this debt will have an impact upon the Council s revenue position, officers are of the view that the current arrangements are working well and that debt is now being managed effectively. Prior to these arrangements being implemented the gross risk to the Council would have been assessed at one of 4, Now that the measures outlined within this report have been successfully embedded then the risks have reduced to one of 3, 3 9. The position regarding risk and the necessity of any further mitigation will be considered on a regular basis Acceptance of the recommendations in this report should help to secure improvements in the performance of our income collection service, which in turn will have a positive impact in respect of the corporate ambitions of delivering excellent service, high performance and value for money, and in the corporate priorities relating to improving efficiency and service delivery. 6

7 11 Reason for Recommendations 11.1 To secure continued improvements in our arrangements for debt management, and to enable those debts where there is no realistic prospect of recovery to be written off. AGIN 11(b) (CAB 0313) Corporate Debt/JB 7

8 SUMMARY OF PROVISION FOR DOUBTFUL DEBTS 2012/13 General Fund Sundry Debtors Housing Benefit HRA debt in Sundry Debtors APPENDIX 1 Table 1 HRA Rents Total 000 s 000 s 000 s 000 s 000 s Balance B/Fwd (139) (457) (24) (923) (1,543) Write offs in current financial year Budgeted increase in Provision (40) (84) 0 (458) (582) Projected Provision c/fwd (161) (537) (21) (1,364) (2,083) Current Debt position 1, ,096 3,585 Note 1. There will be further write offs under delegated powers before the end of the current financial year. 8

9 Debt Outstanding as at Aged Debt Reporting Sundry Debtors APPENDIX 1 Table 2 Current to Debt Days years years years years 5+ years Total Average Debt 2008/09 1, , June , , Sept , , December , , March ,799 Average Debt 2009/10 1, , June , September , December , March ,154 Average Debt 2010/ , June , September December March , ,177 Average Debt 2011/ June September , , December ,082 Average Debt 2012/ ,057 9

10 APPENDIX 1 Table 3 Aged Debt Reporting Overpaid Housing Benefits Debt Outstanding as at Current 90 to to Over 5 Debt days years years years years years Total March 2010 N/Av March June September December March Average Debt 2011/ June September December Average Debt 2012/

11 APPENDIX 1 Table 4 HRA total Indebtedness Debt Outstanding as at Total March , March , March , June , September , December , March ,562 Average Debt 2011/12 1, June , September , December ,096 Projected 31 March ,860 Average Debt 2012/13 (Projected) 2,017 11

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