Agenda item

11.1

To inform the committee of the need for the Council to operate debt recovery activity, to set out the proposal to commission those services, and to seek the approval of the committee to do so. This provision will be for a period of 4 years commencing on 16 March 2024, with an estimated cost to the Council of £300k.

11.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Finance Committee approves the commissioning of debt recovery services as described in this report for the four-year period from 16 March 2024 to 15 March 2028, with an estimated cost to the Council of £300k.

11.3

Reasons for Decision

11.3.1

This commissioning decision will enable the Council to continue to have a debt recovery service in place from March 2024 (when the current debt recovery framework expires) for a further four years, to ensure there is no break in debt recovery activity at the point the current framework expires on 15 March 2024.

11.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

11.4.1

Although the Council does undertake debt recovery activity, it does not have the resource to carry out the full scope of activity being commissioned via this report. For example, an external provider can use its national infrastructure to trace and collect debt from debtors who have moved away from Sheffield.

11.4.2

Additionally, external partners provide valuable resilience to the Council’s own in-house enforcement team to deal with peaks in workload and cover for staff absence.

11.4.3

Doing nothing, which would mean having to rely solely on in-house resources to undertake this activity, has therefore been disregarded.

11.1

The Senior Revenues and Benefits Manager submitted a report to inform the Committee of the need for the Council to operate debt recovery activity. The report set out the proposal to commission debt recovery services and sought approval for the provision of the services for a period of four years commencing on 16 March 2024, with an estimated cost to the Council of £300k.

11.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Finance Committee approves the commissioning of debt recovery services as described in this report for the four-year period from 16 March 2024 to 15 March 2028, with an estimated cost to the Council of £300k.

11.3

Reasons for Decision

11.3.1

This commissioning decision will enable the Council to continue to have a debt recovery service in place from March 2024 (when the current debt recovery framework expires) for a further four years, to ensure there is no break in debt recovery activity at the point the current framework expires on 15 March 2024.

11.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

11.4.1

Although the Council does undertake debt recovery activity, it does not have the resource to carry out the full scope of activity being commissioned via this report. For example, an external provider can use its national infrastructure to trace and collect debt from debtors who have moved away from Sheffield.

11.4.2

Additionally, external partners provide valuable resilience to the Council’s own in-house enforcement team to deal with peaks in workload and cover for staff absence.

11.4.3

Doing nothing, which would mean having to rely solely on in-house resources to undertake this activity, has therefore been disregarded.