Council writes off arrears

MORE than £103,000 of business rate arrears are to be written off by Oldham Council.

Reviews earlier this year unearthed irrecoverable council tax and business rate debts of just over £103,000, some of which went back to the early 1990s.

Many were for less than £1.

The policy is being overseen by the Unity Partnership, a private company which works with the council to deliver key services.

Cabinet member for finances and resources, Councillor Lynne Thompson, insisted that the council is not going soft on debtors and said that it is unrealistic to keeps debts alive when there is little prospect of them ever being paid off.

“She said: “Most of these debtors are insolvent companies or people who have died, gone bankrupt or disappeared.

“It has been clearly stated over the past several months that Oldham Council is committed to ensuring that it goes forward on a secure financial footing.

“The decision to write off these historical bad debts is just another initiative aimed at drawing a line under what has happened in the past, clearing our accounts of sums that will never be recovered and giving us a far better picture of where our finances are for the future.”