Almost £4.7million in debt deemed uncollectable in the last financial year will be written off by Edinburgh Council.
High on the list is £205,535 in unpaid LEZ charges – which equates to almost 20% of the total amount in penalty charges collected by the local authority.
Another £1.14 million in unpaid parking and bus lane PCNs are also to be written off which is 9.63% of the nearly £11.9 million collected.
Overall, the write offs amount to 0.3% of the value of a variety of council debts, charges and taxes, versus 0.1% in the previous year.
Officers explained to councillors that much of the increase was due to changes in rules around how some types of debt are handled.
Edinburgh’s Finance Convener said properly servicing debt was “a normal part of sound financial management” and that the city has a “very low” write off level.
Much of the increase in the last year comes from sundry debt – miscellaneous debts owed to the council.
A total of £1.73 million in sundry debt is to be written off.
Councillors will have the opportunity to review the write offs at the next Finance Committee meeting.
It represents an increase from last year, when 6.6% of the value of parking and bus lane Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) collected were written off.
The report says that an increase in the value of parking charges is one reason, but there are also increasing difficulties in tracing drivers.
Finance convener, Cllr Mandy Watt, said: “Here in Edinburgh, we have a very low annual write off level for debt. For 2024/25, this figure represents only 0.3% of overall income levels.
“Debts are only written off when all possible methods of recovery have been exhausted and if formal legal action wouldn’t be deemed appropriate.”
Some £204,980 in council tax debts will be written off, out of a total income of almost £446.8million, as well as £614,713 in non-domestic rates out of a total income of £412.1 million.
These write-offs represent 0.05% and 0.15% of the collected totals throughout the year respectively, versus 0.04% and 0.09% in 2024/25.
Housing benefit overpayment at a value of £672,825 is to be written off, out of a total amount of £168.5 million – 0.4% of the total collected. It marks an increase from 0.25% the previous year.
And salary overpayments to the tune of £82,642 will be erased – which is 0.02% of the £400million which was paid – a drop from 0.03% last year.
The report states that the council may begin chasing written-off debts again if new information about debtors becomes available.
By Joseph Sullivan Local Democracy Reporter
