ONCHAN Commissioners have hit back at a claim made in the House of Keys that housing arrears for the authority were £46,000.
Chris Robertshaw, the minister for Social Care, gave the figure in answer to a question from Onchan MHK David Quirk.
Onchan Commissioners’ Lead member for finance, John Quaye said: ‘No-one approached the commissioners directly to ascertain the true position. The arrears quoted may be factually correct for that week, however a week later the balance was £26,000, because two of the monthly direct debit payment dates fell in the following week. The effect of the monthly direct debits and other staged payments mean that the level of arrears fluctuates but most of the “arrears” are managed by the commissioners’ staff and are paid under agreement.”
The commissioners were pleased to see that Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw understood that the timing of the report meant the figures did not show the whole picture.
‘The level of arrears not cleared monthly are approximately £18,000, including rates and other charges,’ said Mr Quaye. ‘This is 0.9 per cent of the annual rent. Of this figure, approximately £10,000 is controlled debt where the debtor is repaying arrears to an agreed plan. We seek to work closely with our tenants; we are acutely aware of personal circumstances and have an active dialogue when financial difficulties arise. If our tenant is in difficulties and engages with us at an early stage we will always seek to make suitable arrangements for repayment.’
The remaining unpaid debt of about £8,000 is the subject of action under the published arrears procedure, some of which is currently before the Courts. The authority follows, as it has to, the Government’s policies with regard to rent collection and pursuit of arrears.
The authority neither claims nor is projected in the next year to claim a deficit from the government for its social housing. The deficiency claim for sheltered housing is below the average claim from housing authorities.
The authority will shortly be meeting with the Minister for Social Care and one of the points to be discussed is the payment of rents directly from housing benefits.
According to Mr Robertshaw’s figures, Douglas owed £58,033; Port Erin £12,978; Ramsey £12, 856 and Peel £9,229.