FIVE businesses/organisations are being chased up for debts by sheriff officers every week in Dumfries and Galloway.
This is because traders struggling to stay afloat across the region racked up £1.7m of debts to Dumfries and Galloway Council last year.
A total of 455 company owners/organisations had failed to pay their business rates charges to the local authority in 2023/24.
This shock figure is more than triple pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, the number of cases where sheriff officers have been drafted in to try and claw back the cash was 276 last year – compared to just 65 in 2019/20.
The cost of living crisis and lack of governmental financial support for business owners are being blamed for the tough times faced by traders large and small.
Kenny Bowie, president of Dumfries and Galloway chamber of commerce, said: “This is no surprise because business owners have been telling us it’s tough out there at the moment.
“They are really stretched to keep prices under control and maintain profits while the costs of materials and running a business are so high right now.”
He added: “Although the number of businesses going under in Dumfries and Galloway is not as high as the rest of Scotland, business owners are still telling us that it’s difficult.
“They are trying to be more resilient through various ways, such as opening up in different markets that are more affordable to them.”
Mr Bowie also stated that he was “very disappointed” that small businesses in Scotland did not receive the same levels of rates relief pledged south of the border when Scottish finance minister Shona Robison announced her budget in December 2023.
Ms Robison said the Scottish Government was prioritising health funding instead of business tax cuts.
A freedom of information request submitted to Dumfries and Galloway Council confirmed that 455 businesses/organisations were in arrears for their rates for non-domestic properties at the end of 2023/24.
This is a big increase on 282 cases the previous year, and more than three times higher than the 145 cases at the end of 2019/20.
The money owed to the council for unpaid business rates last year was £1,692,249.
The figures for the previous years were: 2019/20 – £574,310; 2020/21 – £274,183; 2021/22 – £683,429; 2022/23 – £843,569 (There were additional rates relief in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic).
Business rates debts are passed onto sheriff officers in Scotland. Dumfries and Galloway Council shared the number of unpaid accounts being pursued over the past five years: 2019/20 – 65; 2020/21 – 37; 2021/22 – 75; 2022/23 – 240; 2023/24 – 276.
Last year sheriff officers were successful in retrieving £275,962 of debts owed. The previous year the figure was £554,135, however the numbers were lower before and during the pandemic: 2019/20 – £129,501; 2020/21 – £66,219; 2021/22 – £135,513.
