Harrogate council approves recruitment plan to help under pressure taxation staff

Harrogate Borough Council has approved £42,000 worth of funding in an effort to tackle a work backlog in its revenue department.

The council has faced an increase in workload and staffing shortages during covid and the energy crisis.

In a report to Cllr Graham Swift, cabinet member for economic development and resources, the authority said the response to the pandemic and the £150 energy rebate had increased pressure on “an already busy team”.

The authority now plans to appoint 2.5 full time equivalent staff until March 2023 to help tackle the backlog.

It comes as the government awarded the borough council funding to help cover costs associated with covid and the energy rebate.

A report presented to Cllr Swift by officers said:

“Revenues section has currently been using temporary staffing resources to provide experienced revenues staff with quality assurance checking for both council tax and business rates.

“The ability to extend this provision through to March 31, 2023 will provide resilience and continuation of consistent knowledge within the team to be able to effectively prioritise on clearing the backlog.”

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