Unpaid debts worth £2m have been written off by Salford council. That’s made up of £1m in council tax and almost £950,000 in business rates which the town hall has decided are irrecoverable and will miss out on. The debt was unpaid for various reasons including people passing away, bankruptcy, absconders, or cases judged ‘uneconomical’ to chase. Debt relief orders were another reason for the money being written off. Some of the council tax debts go as far back as 1993. The council uses enforcement agencies to try to collect unpaid council tax in some instances. The decision to scrap the debt was taken by Coun Jack Youd – the lead member for finance at the council – on Tuesday, March 13. Smaller debts including Housing Benefit overpayments, arrears from former Pendleton Together tenants, and sundry debts for things such as council services were also written off. Former tenants’ arrears debt written off was to the value of nearly £100,000. It comes after Salford council announced its budget for 2024/25 and had to plug a £5.9m gap to balance the books, a position faced by many councils across the country. Council tax in Salford is set to increase by five pc as part of the agreed budget – meaning Band D households will pay an extra £110.93 per year without the single person discount. The increase is made up of a 2.99 pc general council tax increase and 2pc rise in the adult social care precept. Charges for some council services will also increase as part of the town hall’s plan to break even. Salford Mayor Paul Dennett said the lack of government funding for Salford and other councils has left him worrying about the future and services councils provide to residents. He said a total of £245 million has been cut from the council’s budget in total over the past 14 years by Westminster. But budget pressures are likely to grow for town halls across Greater Manchester in the coming years, as savings requirements are expected to continue increasing.
