Request 101004027259

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 regarding outstanding debt owed to the council, and the costs and outcomes associated with its recovery.

I am seeking to build a clearer picture of how much debt local authorities are owed, how much is successfully recovered, and how this compares to spending on debt collection.

I would be grateful if you could provide the following information:

1. Total outstanding debt

a) Please provide the total outstanding debt recorded by the council, broken down by debt category where this information is held for:

(i) Each of the last 5 completed financial years (e.g., 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26),
(ii)As well as the most recent year-to-date data available for the current period.

b) A breakdown of this debt by category, including:

(i) Council tax arrears
(ii) Housing rent arrears
(iii) Benefit overpayments
(iv) Parking fine or penalty charge notices
(v) Any other debt categories

2. Council tax arrears

a) The total amount of council tax arrears recovered in each year

3. Debt recovery and enforcement costs

a) The total annual cost of debt collection and enforcement activity, including where available:

(i) Payments to sheriff officers or external enforcement agents
(ii) Legal costs associated with debt recovery
(iii) Internal staffing and operational costs associated with debt collection activity, where recorded.
iv) All other related costs

4. Debt advice and support

a) The total annual spending on debt advice or financial support services, including:

(i) In-house provision
(ii) External organisations funded or commissioned by the council

5. Analysis and Evaluation

a) Please provide copies of any existing internal reports, reviews, assessments, or analysis relating to:

(i) The cost of debt collection activities with the amount recovered
(ii) The effectiveness of the debt advice or prevention measures

Response 06-08-2026

1. Total outstanding debt: 

a) Please provide the total outstanding debt recorded by the council, broken down by debt category where this information is held for:

(i) Each of the last 5 completed financial years (e.g., 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26),

(ii)As well as the most recent year-to-date data available for the current period.

Council Tax:

2021/22 - 31st March 2022 - £1,714,184

2022/23 - 31st March 2023 - £1,619,790

2023/24 - 31st March 2024 - £2,211,958

2024/25 - 31st March 2025 - £2,296,759

2025/26 - 31st March 2026 - £2,437,180

Non Domestic Rates:

2021/22 - 31st March 2022 - £911,828

2022/23 - 31st March 2023 - £1,026,305

2023/24 - 31st March 2024 - £1,944,242

2024/25 - 31st March 2025 - £1,740,407

2025/26 - 31st March 2026 - £1,210,773

(ii) As we calculate arrears at the 31st March of the relevant financial year, we are not able to provide a figure for 2026/27 for either Council Tax or Non Domestic Rates.

  b) A breakdown of this debt by category, including:

(i) Council Tax arrears:

(ii) Housing rent arrears:

21-22 £771,831

22-23 £945,922

23-24 £1,029,009

24-25 £823,450

25-26 £823,450

26 to date £971,347

(iii) Benefit overpayments:

21-22 £989,084.20

22-23 £934,325.90

23-24 £941,964.34

24-25 £934,283.33

25-26 £943,077.53

26 to date - no available

(iv) Parking fine or penalty charge notices:

Moray Council does not hold the information requested in the format specified.

Enforcement Charge Notices (ECNs) are subject to different payment stages, including reduced payment if settled within the prescribed period, the full charge if paid later, and, where applicable, debt recovery procedures. As a result, there is no single recorded figure for the total outstanding ECN debt for each financial year requested.

In accordance with Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, the Council does not hold this information.

Moray Council does hold information relating to individual ECNs and debt recovery processes; however, extracting and compiling the requested historical outstanding debt figures would require the creation of new information, which is not required under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

(v) Any other debt categories (Sundry)

21-22 £2,157,434.66

22-23 £2,725,127.39

23-24 £2,556,500.54

24-25 £3,505,338.66

25-26 £3,690,164.97

2.

a) The total amount of council tax arrears recovered in each year 

 2021/22 - 31st March 2022 - £1,557,084

2022/23 - 31st March 2023 - £1,309,097

2023/24 - 31st March 2024 - £1,271,743

2024/25 - 31st March 2025 - £1,459,721

2025/26 - 31st March 2026 - £1,276,806

3. Debt recovery and enforcement costs

 a) The total annual cost of debt collection and enforcement activity, including where available:

(i)                 Payments to sheriff officers or external enforcement agents:

21-22 £261

22-23 £2,058

23-24 £5,177

24-25 £4,255

25-26 £4,452

26 to date £1,375

(Sheriff Officer Costs)

2021/22 - Council Tax £55,391.49 ; NDR £5,121.04

2022/23 - Council Tax £50,216.79 ; NDR £27,080.86

2023/24 - Council Tax £50,798.66 ; NDR £10,340.01

2024/25 - Council Tax £52,969.50 ; NDR £25,844.86

2025/26 - Council Tax £108,629.12 ; NDR £34,009.09

2026/27 to date (31/07/26) - Council Tax £28,993.43 ; NDR £2,641.70

Sundry debt:

22-23 £8,285.98

23-24 £13,974.53

24-25 £21,638.84

25-26 £14,445.11

26 to Date £2,773.34

(ii)               Legal costs associated with debt recovery

(Legal Fees)

2021/22 - Council Tax £1,350 ; NDR £450

2022/23 - Council Tax £933 ; NDR £1,089

2023/24 - Council Tax £4,678 ; NDR £480

2024/25 - Council Tax £16,962.75 ; NDR £1,246

2025/26 - Council Tax £2,070 ; NDR £900

2026/27 to date (31/07/26) - Council Tax £1,581 ; NDR £0

(iii)             Internal staffing and operational costs associated with debt collection activity, where recorded.

(Staff costs)

2021/22 - Council Tax £70,687.75 ; NDR £7,854.13

2022/23 - Council Tax £67,850.17 ; NDR £7,538.99

2023/24 - Council Tax £68,862.58 ; NDR £7,651.49

2024/25 - Council Tax £82,625.75 ; NDR £9,180.39

2025/26 - Council Tax £77,096.20 ; NDR £8,564.81

2026/27 to date (31/07/26) - Council Tax £21,352.54 ; NDR £3,066.26

(iv)              All other related costs

  No specific data

4. Debt advice and support

  a) The total annual spending on debt advice or financial support services, including:

(i)                 In-house provision: £394,482

(ii)               External organisations funded or commissioned by the council: £117,000

5. Analysis and Evaluation

a) Please provide copies of any existing internal reports, reviews, assessments, or analysis relating to:

(i)                 The cost of debt collection activities with the amount recovered

Debts recovered by in house service £537,151,

Financial gain to clients from in-house service £2,129,940,

Income to council from Debt Arrangement Scheme £100,235,

Cost of in-house service £394,482

(ii)               The effectiveness of the debt advice or prevention measures

No target recorded