DEBT collectors missed out on almost £700,000 of cash which could have gone towards funding vital services for taxpayers last year.

Council bosses wrote off £683,000 of debt which was considered unrecoverable in 2018/2019, including hundreds of thousands of pounds in council tax, housing benefit and business rates revenue.

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If this money had been collected, it could have paid for some of Bracknell Forest Council’s (BFC) day-to-day services, such as social care, staff salaries and bins collections. 

Stuart McKellar, BFC’s finance chief, said: “As a council, we have measures in place to ensure debts owed are recovered. 

“However, there are certain circumstances whereby some debts, particularly historic ones, can be difficult to recover. 

“One example of this could be if individuals move to other areas and can’t be traced. 

“In these circumstances, debts may be written off in our accounts. 

“We do, however, continue to engage with debtors who return to the local area and come back into contact with us, to ensure these losses are kept to a minimum.”

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Of the debt written off in 2018/2019, this includes: 

  • £136,000 in business rates not paid back
  • £118,000 in council tax owed
  • £106,700 in housing benefit arrears
  • £223,200 in social care receipts
  • Almost £100,000 in other debts

BFC receives around £59 million in council tax every year, meaning it has an estimated council tax collection rate of more than 99 per cent. 
 

A 2018 investigation by the News found BFC missed out on £3.1 million from unrecoverable fees from the last five years. 

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For the 2019/2020 year, which comes to an end at the end of the month, the authority set aside more than £4 million to cover unpaid debts. 
 
Neighbouring authority Wokingham Borough Council wrote off £728,320 in unpaid debts in 2018/2019. 
 
More than £450,000 of this came from money owed from business rates, with another £150,000 lost to council tax cash owed.