Decision Maker:

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: Yes

Date of Decision: March 10, 2026

Purpose:

Content: Salford City Council - Record of Decision   I, Councillor 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 irrecoverable Council Tax debts of £1,749,291.33; and   The write-off of irrecoverable Housing Benefit Overpayment debts of £172,463.26.   The Reasons are: The liabilities mentioned in the report for write-off are irrecoverable.   Options considered and rejected were: To leave outstanding amounts on the accounts for a further period.   Assessment of Risk: The write-off of irrecoverable debts is an essential part of the administration of Council Tax, Business Rates and Housing Benefit overpayment accounts.  These write-offs are from debts from 1993 to the present and a breakdown of net write-offs by year is at Appendix A to the report.   The value of these write-offs, which are mainly for arrears debts, is approximately equivalent to 0.86% of the Council Tax collectable debit for 2026/2027.   The source of funding is: The bad debt provision   Legal Advice obtained: Supplied by Ashley Marks, Principal Lawyer: I have looked at the Council Tax write off report for the period 01-Jul-2025 to 31-JAN-2026 and the Housing Benefit Overpayment Report for 01-Jul-2025 to 31-JAN-2026 and can confirm that the specific write off categories are all clear and cover the most common scenarios i.e. deceased, absconded, insolvent or uneconomical to pursue . These are all cases where the best legal advice would be that the debt be written off as non-recoverable.   Financial Advice obtained: Supplied by David Eden, Finance Manager: There are sufficient provisions available to cover the cost of the proposed write offs.   Procurement Advice obtained: N/A   HR Advice obtained: N/A   Climate Change Advice obtained: N/A   The following documents have been used to assist the decision process: Lead Member Report. Some of the relevant documents contain exempt or confidential information and are not available for public inspection. Other documents which are in the public domain are the relevant write-off strategies.   Contact Officer: Penny Mitchell, Service Manager – Council Tax and BetterOff                Email: penny.mitchell@salford.gov.uk   This decision is not subject to consideration by another Lead Member.   The appropriate scrutiny panel to call-in the decision is the Overview and Scrutiny Board.   Signed: Councillor 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.