Millions owed to authority in unpaid council tax

Portfolio holder for finance Roger Evans said Shropshire Council needed to look more carefully across the authority "in how we deliver a balanced budget"

Millions of pounds of unpaid council tax in Shropshire is still to be collected.

Portfolio holder for finance Roger Evans said that at the end of the 2024/25 financial year, Shropshire Council was still owed £28.2m of council tax, but was "pleased to report" £2.28m had been collected by 1 August.

He was responding to a question from Reform UK councillor Harry Hancock-Davies, who wanted to know what steps the Liberal Democrat administration has taken to strengthen council tax and business rate collection.

Evans also added council staffing urgently needed to be increased.

Debt levels had increased "substantially in the last few years", he stated.

An example of this was a £6.6m increase in 2024/25, Evans said, and "a comparable situation, although smaller, exists concerning the business rates collection".

He added: "My aim is to continue to reduce this as part of the short-term plan I am implementing."

Evans stated he was concerned over many areas of the council "where teams have been reduced in number".

He added the authority needed to look more carefully across the council "in how we deliver a balanced budget".

"Staffing numbers will have to change, up or down, but we aim to do this in a more considered way.

"The staff [level] does urgently need to be increased, and I have had it confirmed in the last few days that both a short-term and a longer plan is being discussed and put together, including a revised software addition to assist in what we... want to achieve."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.