Content

Salford City
Council - Record of Decision
 
I, Councillor Jack Youd, Deputy City
Mayor and Lead Member for Finance, Support Services &
Regeneration, in exercise of the powers contained within the City
Council Constitution, do
hereby:
 
Approve the
write-off of Sundry Debt to the value of
£1,541,011.47.

 
The writes offs per quarter are shown
below:
·       
£749,194.63 for quarter 4
2024/25
·       
£229,044.07 for quarter 1
2025/26
·       
£116,161.51 for quarter 2
2025/26
·       
£446,611.26 for quarter 3
2025/26
 
The Reasons
are:
There have been
exhaustive attempts to collect these sundry debts and they are now
found to be irrecoverable for a variety of reasons including, but
not limited to liquidation, absconders, companies that have ceased
trading, bankruptcy, customers who are deceased, uneconomical to
collect and irrecoverable after court action.
 
Options
considered and rejected were:
Not relevant due
to the nature (age and value) of these accounts. The majority of
accounts relate to those proven uneconomical to collect,
irrecoverable after court action, bankruptcy /
liquidation.
 
Assessment of
Risk:
Low
Whilst every
attempt is made to recover the debt there will inevitably be
circumstances whereby a small element of this debt will become
irrecoverable. The council has budget provision to cover the cost
of debts written off.
 
The source of
funding is: The
Council’s bad debt provision.
 
Legal
Implications: Tony
Hatton 28.01.2026
Under the
Council’s Constitution, Chief Officers must ensure that the
Council is not put at risk from any bad debts, obtain the approval
of the Lead Member for Finance and Customer Services when writing
off debts (7.2.21), and to take effective action to pursue
non-payment within defined timescales and relevant legislation
(7.2.23).
 
It is the
responsibility of the Chief Finance officer:
7.2.5 To
agree the submission of reports for the write-off of bad debts to
the Lead Member for Finance and Customer Services for approval, as
appropriate in line with the scheme of delegation of the
Council.
7.2.6 To keep
a record of all sums written off and to adhere to the requirements
of the Accounts and Audit Regulations (as
amended).
 
The report
suggests that there is no further recovery action which can be
taken by the Council with regards to the outstanding debts and
Legal advice has been obtained on each of the individual cases
where the assessment has resulted in court
action.
 
Financial
Implications: Tony
Thompstone, Chief Accountant.
There is
adequate cover for the sundry debt write-offs proposed in this
report in the council’s provision for bad debt. Setting a
provision that is prudent, but not excessive, is a component of the
council’s financial strategy. The provision is reviewed on an
annual basis to ensure that it is set at an appropriate
level.
 
Procurement
Implications: Not
applicable.
 
HR
Implications: Not
Applicable.
 
Climate
Change Implications: Not Applicable.
 
Other
Directorates Consulted: Directorates are consulted on specific write-offs
where appropriate.
 
The following
documents have been used to assist the decision
process:
Lead Member
Report.
The background
documents contain exempt or confidential information and are not
available for public inspection as they would provide the identity
of individuals or companies involved in the write-off.

Contact
Officer:       Tony Thompstone, Strategic
Finance Manager
tony.thompstone@salford.gov.uk
 
This decision is
not subject to consideration by another Lead
Member.
 
The appropriate
scrutiny panel to call-in this decision is the Overview &
Scrutiny Board.
 
 

Signed: Councillor Jack Youd                       
Dated: 10th March 2026
Deputy City Mayor and Lead
Member for Finance, Support Services & Regeneration
 
 

 
This decision was
published on 12th March 2026.
 
This decision will
come into force at 4.00 p.m. on 19th March 2026,
unless it is called-in in
accordance with the decision-making process
rules.