Minutes:
The Finance Business Partner introduced a training presentation to the Committee on the Statement of Accounts.
The Finance Business Partner said that the Statement of Accounts were produced annually in accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting, which were the Committee’s responsibility to approve.
The Finance Business Partner said that the accounts were made up of six key areas and comprehensively explained the contents of each area. She drew Members’ attention to the new section within the Narrative Statement which related to the impact of Covid.
The Chairman and Councillor Goldspink asked for clarification of ‘unusable reserves’. The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that the balance sheet was required to show either liabilities or assets to comply with international reporting standards. He said that such items could not be used and they were merely shown as accounting adjustments to be regulation compliant.
The Chairman thanked the Finance Business Partner for her easily understandable explanation of the accounts. He asked if more references relating to climate change and the environment could feature in the future. The Finance Business Partner said that going forward the narrative would contain more commentary in this area.
Councillor Crofton asked how the council was treating its debtors. The Chairman said that Note 15 covered debtors within the Statement of Accounts. The Finance Business Partner said that all debts were reviewed at the end of the financial year, and an assessment made to the provision required to determine the collectability. She said that the council had quite a large amount of aged debt, which officers were working on, but that provision had been made for write off should these debts not be collectable.
Councillor Crofton said that he was sure that the future Committee would want to concentrate on debtors. The Chairman said that debtors would be covered in future reports to the Committee, and that he understood that the Finance Department had a project which was concentrating on aged debtors.
The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that as per Note 15, £2.5 million had been allocated to write off the council’s uncollectable debt. He said that he had produced a report, shortly to go to the Chief Executive, which requested that the Finance Department be allocated extra staff to enable debts to be taken back in house from other service areas. He said that other methods, such as the changing of the wording on reminder letters, a ‘pay before service’ regime (where billing is made in advance), and the use of external credit recovery agencies where appropriate were also wanted.
The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said he had seen no write off of debt in the past two years. He said should a debt be uncollectable the details were kept in the system and if the opportunity to pursue the debtor again arose this would be undertaken.
The Chairman asked who had the authority to write off debts. The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that he had the delegated authority to write off up to £50,000 per individual debt, but this would also have to go to the Executive.
The Chairman asked if there would be an update on debtors at the meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee on 28 March 2023. The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that this was not on the agenda on 28 March 2023.
Councillor Crofton said that debtors were discussed at a previous meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee, and that he had spoken about the possibility of the council using a recovery agency. He said that action was required with regards to the £2.5 million of debtors now. Councillor Alder agreed and said that debtors should be pursued with all vigour. She asked what was being done with the large Bishop’s Stortford debt.
The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that currently each Head of Service had devolved responsibility for each different debt portfolio and that he was unsure which debt Councillor Alder was referring to.
The Chairman asked Members for their thoughts on him contacting the Chief Executive to raise the Committee’s call forimmediate action regarding the council’s debtors. Members supported this approach.
Councillor Alder said that she understood from a previous meeting of the Committee that the Finance Department were going to take control of all debtors two months ago. She therefore asked that this did now happen. The Chairman said he did not recall the timeframe but that as discussed, there were plans for the Finance Department to have such function. He reiterated that he would make representation to the Chief Executive, regarding the Committee’s concerns that this function was implemented in a timely manner.
RESOLVED – that the Statement of Accounts training be received.