SCOTTISH Borders Council (SBC) had to ‘write off’ debts deemed unrecoverable to the tune of £662,000 in the last financial year, a new report reveals.

The report approved by SBC’s acting chief financial officer, Suzanne Douglas, covers the areas of council tax, non-domestic rates, sundry debtors, housing benefit overpayments and aged debt.

The level of debt rose in 2022/23 to £662.3k compared to the figure for the previous financial year of £391.54k.

That increase was expected as resources in 2021/22 had been redirected towards the administration of COVID-related business grants and cost-of-living (COL) payments.

The report, to be presented this week to members of the council’s Executive Committee, reveals that council tax written-off last year amounted to £242,045, non-domestic rates write-offs were £282,972 and sundry debt was £100,079.

It says: “The value of council tax write-offs processed within 2022/23 have increased in comparison to 2021/22.

“This was expected as resources previously directed to deal with the administration of COVID business grants and COL payments has returned to business as usual.

“The highest value of write-offs for council tax in 2022/23 is within the deceased category where the estate has confirmed there are no funds available to recover the sums due.

“There continue to be issues accessing personal bankruptcy cases which has been escalated to the appropriate portal providers. This could see a significant shift in the figures in the coming reports due to clearing the backlog of these cases once the issue is resolved.”