Agenda item

Report FSD16003

The Committee considered a report providing an update on the current level of Education, Care and Health Services debt and the action being taken to reduce the level of long term debt.

The level of Education, Care and Health Services debt as at 31^st March 2015 was £9.23m which was reduced by £5.45m as at 30^th September 2015, with the reduction of £3.78m including write-offs which totalled £175k.  The outstanding sum of £5.45m was expected to be reduced to less than £3m by end of 2015/16, with further reductions in 2016/17.

To support the continued reduction in the level of Education, Care and Health Services debt, a policy for the management and recovery of social care debt was introduced within Education, Care and Health Services, Finance and Liberata in June 2015, with consideration given to the possibility of requesting payment in advance for certain identified services where appropriate, and providing a range of payment options.  Although the number of statutory homeless households placed in temporary accommodation had continued to increase which, together with the effect of welfare reforms and the benefit cap had resulted in an increase in the volume of debt, work to reduce the level of debt relating to rent arrears continued which included a quarterly reconciliation exercise undertaken with Orchard and Shipman following which arrears would be paid from the previous quarter.  Officers were also working with Liberata to review the housing process from the initial sign-up for temporary accommodation through to eviction and debt recovery to ensure that it was robust.

Local Authority Officers continued to meet with Liberata on a regular basis to discuss arrears and proposals for process changes in order to improve the service to customers and to increase income generation.  Liberata, which was responsible for the collection of Education, Care and Health Services debt as part of the Exchequer Services contract, was undertaking a range of targeted recovery activities which included improved reporting, targeting large and older debts and monitoring payment arrangements to ensure that customers were adhering to their payment plans.  As part of the continuous improvement process, the Local Authority had also reviewed the existing recovery systems and had expanded the scope for the Single View system to include a debt management system which was expected to be implemented within the next nine months and would allow improved reporting on the debt position of individual customers across a range of areas.

In considering the report, the Chairman was pleased to note the progress in reducing Education, Care and Health Services debt.

With regard to the outstanding debt relating to 16-18 year olds placed in temporary accommodation, the Exchequer Manager confirmed that support was given to this vulnerable client base to assist them with claiming the Housing Benefit they were entitled to, and where this had not happened, every effort was made to recover Housing Benefit before the debt could be written off.

RESOLVED that:

1)  Members’ comments on the level of Education, Care and Health Services debt over a year old and the action being taken to reduce this sum be noted; and,

2)  Further reports on Education, Care and Health Services debt be considered by the Care Services PDS Committee on an annual basis.