Agenda item

The report presented and sought approval for the proposed amendments to the existing Corporate Debt Management policy to incorporate the recently updated Financial Procedure Rules following the approval of the refreshed Council Constitution and to address some inconsistencies and presentational issues that require minor amendments to the policy.   

 

The objective of the Corporate Debt Management policy was to ensure all income due to the Council is collected promptly, efficiently, and effectively in order to optimise the Council's financial position.

 

The policy applies to all debts and income owed / due to the Council and enables the Council to have ‘one view’ of all Council debt that was managed and controlled centrally.  All Directorates must operate in accordance with this policy. 

 

All Directorates must follow this policy to allow the Council to maximise the collection of debts and income by using a co-ordinated approach and by having due regard to the customer’s ability to pay.

 

The policy also sought to address other matters such as credits and how these would be offset with other debts across the Council, pre-contractual checks to ensure any monies owed to the Council are addressed, and the insertion of a new contractual provision which allows sums owed to the Council to be offset.

 

The minor amendments include:

 

·        The inclusion of the Welfare Support & Debt Write off policy links;

·        The removal of the reference to Section 21.5 (under the heading ‘Writing off of Debt’) and replaced with ‘in accordance with the Council’s Financial Procedure Rules as contained in the Council’s constitution.

·        The inclusion of the Debt Write Off policy link under the heading of ‘Writing Debts Off’.

 

ORDERED:

 

That the Executive Member for Finance and Governance approves the amendments to the Corporate Debt Management policy to be implemented from 1^st April 2024.

 

That delegated authority to approve any future minor revisions/modifications is provided to the Director of Finance to reflect revisions to statutory guidance to the policy.   

 

OPTIONS:

Do nothing – however if the policy was not updated it would not be reflective of the updated Financial Procedure Rules as contained in the Council’s Constitution.

REASONS:

1.           The policy was a key decision that impacts on two or more wards and as such requires Executive approval.

 

2.           To include the Council’s updated Financial Procedure Rules following the approval of the refreshed Council Constitution as outlined in the Executive Summary. 

3.           The report contains only minor amendments to reflect the updated Financial Procedure Rules and does not have a larger impact on the overall budget or policy framework and therefore meets the criteria for Single Executive approval.

 

4.           The minor amendments ensure that the inconsistencies and presentation issues are addressed and result in no changes to the threshold to services and support provided. 

 

5.           3-yearly reviews uphold good practice within democratic processes and enables the refreshed policy to maintain visibility with the Executive. 

 

6.           Delegated authority to the Director of Finance to approve future minor modifications to the policy will maintain service operation levels.  As a working policy, failure to keep pace with new legislation leaves the Council at risk and can result in inconsistent practices.