Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services introduced the performance report covering the second quarter of the 2021/22 financial year in respect of the Council’s debt management functions.

The Cabinet Member referred to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the finances of many local residents, with over 32,000 now claiming Universal Credit (UC) compared to less than 14,000 when the outbreak began.  Residents’ difficulties had been compounded by the Government’s decision to cease the £20 per week additional UC payment from early October 2021 and the Cabinet Member suggested that the number of UC claimants would increase further in the third quarter with the ending of the national furlough scheme. 

With regard to collection rates, the Cabinet Member welcomed the general increase in revenues received in the current financial year compared to the last, which he felt was testament to residents’ resilience as well as the Council’s pro-active intervention and support measures such as the Homes and Money Hub, which offered a range of support and advice to those in financial difficulty.  Reference was also made to the Council’s future proposals relating to the establishment of a Community Banking Service and a Credit Union. 

Cabinet Members commented on the unacceptable position that the Government was forcing on residents with its unfair policies that impacted most on deprived areas such as Barking and Dagenham and questioned the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda which appeared to be to the significant detriment of deprived areas in London.

Cabinet resolved to note the performance of the debt management function carried out by the Council’s Revenues service, including the improvement of collection rates and the continued recovery techniques applied to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.