Agenda item

Report of Corporate Director for Finance and Resources

Chris Pembleton, Business Manager Revenues, introduced the report seeking approval to undertake a procurement process for the supply of debt enforcement agent services.  He highlighted the following information:

a)  The value of the decision reflects the projected value to the suppliers, not the cost to the Council.  The services are currently delivered at no cost to the Council.

b)  The debt enforcement agents will support recovery of unpaid Council Tax, National Non-Domestic Rates, Business Improvement District levy, commercial rents and civil enforcement of Penalty Charge Notices.  Currently the three existing enforcement agents recover over £5m each year.

c)   The Council takes additional steps over and above statutory requirements, for example additional reminders, before cases are placed with enforcement agents.  There is also a pre-compliance stage which requires the enforcement agents to have a ‘no-fee’ stage during which they try to engage with the citizen to identify any vulnerability they might be facing and return the case to the Council for support/ signposting to support and to put payment arrangements in place without any cost to the citizen.  If the agent is unable to get the citizen to engage then the statutory fees apply and will not be set under this contract.  At every stage the aim is to get engagement to set up an affordable and sustainable payment arrangement.

During subsequent discussion and in response to questions from the Committee, the following points were made:

d)  The lack of recent complaints to councillors about debt enforcement suggests that the Council has the right balance in recovering debt in the most ethical way it can.

e)  Enforcement agents are aware of local debt advice agencies and will signpost citizens to them.

f)  The enforcement agents used are signed up to the sector code of practice which includes safeguarding issues, and since October 2023 statutory standards and requirements have been monitored by a new independent oversight board.  Employees wear body cameras and are trained in their use.

g)  The aim is to have three debt enforcement agents, as currently.  This provides the flexibility to cease placing accounts with one agent if they are not performing as required.

h)  The ultimate goal is to reduce the use of debt enforcement agents but sometimes it is necessary.

Resolved to:

(1)  undertake a procurement process to secure a concession contract for the supply of debt enforcement agent services for a 5 year period (2024/25 to 2028/29); and

(2)  delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Finance and Resources to award and enter a concession contract with the successful concessionaire following completion of the tender process.

Reasons for decision

i)  The existing concession has expired and the Council still has a requirement for services to collect revenue for the non-payment of debt when all internal processes to collect the debt have been exhausted.

Other options considered

j)  Doing nothing was rejected because the Council would suffer a loss of revenue in the form of debt recovered of approximately £5m per year.

k)  The Council does not have the internal resources or specialist knowledge to deliver the function in-house and therefore this option was rejected.