Dudley Council is chasing an eye-watering £20m in unpaid debts owed for more than three months despite battling a financial black hole. The authority is currently working to balance the books ahead of next year’s budget with a gap of £35m between what it spends and its income. Despite the financial crisis there are millions of pounds in bills from the council that have been unpaid for more than 90 days.
Dudley ’s cabinet member for finance, Cllr Steve Clark, did not explain why the bills have been allowed to build up but says the authority is not alone in having trouble collecting cash. Cllr Clark said: “Like all local authorities, Dudley Council is sometimes challenged in terms of recovering debt in a timely fashion. “The council is reviewing its debt collection arrangements to improve recovery of monies owed.
” Read more: Dudley College 'sorry' over £2.5m heat pump scheme How well do you know the Black Country dialect? Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act shows at the end of September Dudley was owed £12,246,429 in sundry debt that had been outstanding for 90 days or longer. Sundry debts, or miscellaneous debts, are items which have been invoiced but are not related to council tax or business rates.
Unpaid invoices from the council related to social services add another £6m to the total of missing income with £5,425,454 against residential services and £1,225,720 for non-residential services. The council also has its work cut out catchin.