Issue - meetings

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

The Cabinet Member referred to the plight of many residents who were experiencing severe financial problems due to a combination of COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis and the Government’s welfare reforms, which was borne out by a 115% increase since March 2020 in the number of local residents now claiming Universal Credit.  The Council had introduced a range of initiatives to support those in financial difficulty, including the Homes and Money Hub and the Council’s discretionary Council Tax relief fund.  In respect of the latter, the Cabinet Member pointed to a worrying increase in the number of residents citing their mental health as the main reason for requiring support via the relief fund, which for the first nine months of 2021/22 had already surpassed the total for the whole of 2020/21.

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.