Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Interim Corporate Director of Resources (for copy see file of minutes) which had been agreed by Cabinet on 7 July 2021 and provided information with regards to;

(a)     final revenue and capital outturn for the General Fund for 2020/21;

(b)     final outturn for the Council’s Council Tax and Business Rates Collection Fund for 2020/21;

(c)     use of and contributions to earmarked, cash limit and general reserves in year and the closing position regarding balances held at 31 March 2021.

Mr Rudd thanked the Interim Corporate Director of Resources for the comprehensive report he had presented.  Mr Rudd referred to Council Tax collection rates detailed at paragraph 139 of the Cabinet report which detailed a Council Tax collection rate of 93.72% as at 31 March 2021 and asked whether this had improved since that date.  The Interim Corporate Director of Resources replied that this was the in-year recovery rate which was lower than the previous year and was a product of the Council suspending recovery action to support vulnerable households during the year in response to the pandemic.  The in-year forecasts had anticipated that recovery action would have commenced earlier than it actually did, but full recovery action was only recommenced from May 2021 onwards.  An improved collection rate was anticipated now that recovery action had recommenced.

Mr Rudd referred to paragraph 28 of the Cabinet report which suggested the government would provide some assistance of a 75% grant towards the support for that and that it then goes on to say that the assessment for the loss would not provide coverage for non-collection below 99% of the recovery.  Mr Rudd was not sure how this worked out in practice and how much support the government was willing to give.  The Interim Corporate Director of Resources confirmed that when the government had sent the regulations around this it had capped the level of support that could be provided and assumed that overall we would eventually achieve a 99% recovery rate on the council tax that had been levied and was only providing 75% coverage for the reduction in council tax levied (mainly as a result of increase in incidence of council tax reduction claims) not for any unpaid council tax.  The Interim Corporate Director of Resources added that he was happy to send a more detailed note on this to Members as it was quite a technical calculation.

Postscript Note:

The calculation to determine the level of Government support that is available is prescribed by MHCLG, as follows:

QRC 4 2020/21 Net Collectible Debit

x CTR 1 2020/21 expected collection rate

+ gross up for S13A1(C) discounts

Less CTR 1 2020/21 Council Tax requirements

x 2020/21 precept proportionate share

x 75%

For DCC, this is:

The QRC 4 (Council Tax & NDR Collection Return Quarter 4) and CTR 1 (Council Tax Requirement Return) are both statutory returns to MHCLG, certified by the S151 officer.

Key areas where the calculation differs from our overall deficit position:

·        The calculation is based on the 2020/21 recovery year only and excludes movements in respect of other billing years.

·        The calculation excludes any movements on the bad debt provision.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.