the quest for efficiency - institute of revenues rating ... · t 020 7064 8400 irrv ... (est man)...

The Audit Commission’s review of revenues and benefits

THE QUEST FOR EFFICIENCY

● IRRV Annual Conference report ● Performance Awards pull-out section ● Outsourcing ten years on

The Journal for members of the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation

November 2005ISSN 1361-1305£5.50

NEWSMODERN MANJohn Hutton takes over from David Blunkett at the DWP

6FINANCIAL CRISISTown Halls face a £2.2 billion black hole in their finances

7ASSOCIATION NEWSThe Scottish IRRV Golf event

8

REGULARSDIRECTOR'S NOTESDavid Magor defends housing benefit administration

5FROM HERE AND THEREHow the DWP are improving their data matching facilities

10VIEWPOINTThe dangers of indefinitely postponing the council tax revaluation

11EDUCATIONNVQ assessment centres and Distance Learning Dispatch

27

LEGAL CORNERThe inconsistent and illogical nature of insolvency law

28

FEATURESBENEFITSThe mobile working solution helping improve performance in Test Valley

13COVER STORYThe Audit Commission’s study on efficiency issues in revenues and benefits services

14PERFORMANCE AWARDSAll the winners from the big night

16ANNUAL CONFERENCERewind to Manchester and relive the highlights from this year’s conference

20PARTNERSHIPAfter ten years of outsourcing, how have things improved?

30

In thIs Issue...

10

14

Advertising T 01908 306 500

F 01908 306 505 Editorial T 01992 505529 E [email protected]

IRRV Benefit Practitioner

Managing editor Kate Miller

Assistant editor Heather Goldstein

Editorial manager Jackie Scully

Publisher Ciaran Jennings

Designer Adeline Salkeld

Print Stones the printers

Apect Media

Managing director

Roger Wilsher

J108 TBBC

100 Clements Road

London SE16 4DG

T 020 7064 8400

IRRV

Director David Magor OBE

Subscription enquiries

IRRV Publications Dept.

41 Doughty Street

London WC1N 2LF

T 020 7691 8975

E [email protected]

Enquiries

Director’s office 020 7691 8972

Policy & research 020 7691

8977 Membership 020 7691

8980 Accounts 020 7691 8986

Conferences 020 7691 8992

Insight november 2005 3

November 2005 ISSN 1361-1305

© IRRV 2005. Reproduction in whole or in part of any article is prohibited without prior written consent. The views expressed in this magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the Institute. Whilst all due care is taken regarding the accuracy of information, no responsibility can be accepted for errors. Any advice given does not constitute a legal opinion.

IRRV Insight is produced by Aspect Media on behalf of the IRRV. Unless otherwise indicated, copyright in this publication belongs to the IRRV.

IRRV President Suzanne Dean IRRV CPFA; Senior Vice President Allan Traynor FCCA IRRV Junior Vice President Bob Trahern IRRV; Simon Bailey IRRV MinstPA; David Chapman IRRV; Ian Charman FRICS IRRV; Barbara Culverhouse IRRV CPFA; Carol Cutler IRRV; Tom Dixon RD BSc (Est Man) FRICS IRRV; Pat Doherty CPFA IRRV; Richard Guy FRICS (Dip Rating) IRRV MCIArb; Richard Harbord MPhil CPFA FCCA IRRV FIDP FBIM FRSA; Julie Holden IRRV; Caroline Hopkins IRRV; Diane Leggo MRICS IRRV; Bill Lovell IRRV; Kerry Macdermott IRRV; Roger Messenger BSc (Est Man) FRICS IRRV; Maureen Neave MBA Tech IRRV; John Roberts IRRV; Helen Robertson IRRV; Eric Rose FRICS IRRV; Arthur Scott IRRV; Kevin Stewart IRRV; Angela Storey Tech IRRV; Alan Titheridge CPFA IRRV; Gary Watson IRRV.

13

director’s notes

H ousing benefit has always suffered from anecdotal and unresearched criticism of the

quality of service delivery. The source of the latest uninformed comment is, surprisingly, the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In a recent report entitled: ‘The exercise of judicial discretion in rent arrears cases,’ it is stated: “Most district judges have become cynical about the capability of housing benefit administration to deal with claims, through their experience of hearing cases involving lost application forms and other information, incorrect assessment of benefit, and administrative delay.” (See Pat Doherty’s article on page 11).

Comments like these are most frustrating, particularly when all the signs from the local authorities administering the scheme are positive. Not only is housing benefit performance at an all time high, the response to Gershon and the modernising agenda has been enthusiastic and innovative. There are excellent examples of partnership working, shared services and implementation of leading edge technology.

The role of the Department for Work and Pensions in supporting this process of change has been significant. The introduction of the

Performance Standards Fund has given local authorities the essential support they need to improve. Both Paul Howarth and Tom Taylor have been masters of communication, sending clear and unequivocal messages of encouragement, coupled with the necessary rigour to ensure performance is maintained.

Perhaps the Department for Constitutional Affairs should visit the 2006 National Benefits Conference in Harrogate (details on the IRRV website) where they will find specific sessions dealing with this issue. They may even care to venture out into the real world of frontline service delivery and visit a few local authorities to find out the truth.

The reality is that partnership arrangements with private landlords, registered social landlords and local authority housing departments are commonplace. These partnerships are developed to avoid the very situations mentioned in the report. The payback on these arrangements is massive. There are savings in both officer and court time and, perhaps more importantly, the threat of eviction is removed, leading to avoidance of homelessness and a considerable saving to the council tax payer. n

WORDS WILL NEVER HURT ME

David MagorDirector

“ Comments

like these are most

frustrating, particularly

when all the signs from

the local authorities

administering

the scheme

are positive”

insight october 2005 5

6 insight november 2005

news

NORTHERN IRELAND TAKES A STEP NEARER NEW RATING SYSTEM

The Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel has published the draft Rates (Capital values, etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 for consultation, along with a report and final integrated impact assessment on charitable exemptions and reliefs.Launching the 12 week consultation, Finance Minister for Northern Ireland, Jeff Rooker said: “The draft Order represents a key milestone on the path to making the rating system fairer, a process started by the former Northern Ireland Executive in 2000. It provides for the publication of the capital values of all domestic properties in Northern Ireland. These values will be the basis upon which rate bills will be calculated from April 2007 onwards.“Publication will take place in April 2006, and will ensure that ratepayers have an opportunity to find out more about their capital value, well before the new fairer rating system comes into effect and rates bills issue in April 2007. “It is essential that ratepayers have as much information as early as possible, given the fundamental changes we are making. This will help to increase their awareness and understanding of the changes, and will provide a sound basis for taking forward all of the reforms to be introduced from April 2007. The reforms include the new rate relief scheme for those on low incomes, transitional arrangements over a three-year period and a new independent valuation tribunal. They will be given effect through a second Order in Council, to be brought forward next year.” As well as advancing the domestic reform agenda, the draft Order also provides for a number of changes to the non-domestic rating system, as set out in the consultation report on charitable exemptions and reliefs published today. Spelling out the changes to be made through the draft Order, the minister said:“The exemption of community halls from rates and the increase in the level of sport and recreational relief from 65 per cent to 80 per cent are the first in a series of further planned measures developed under the Review of Rating Policy with this objective in mind. By including these in the draft Order, we are taking the earliest possible legislative opportunity to ensure that they can be introduced in April 2006. “Our intention is that this measure will promote a greater level of community spirit while easing the rate burden on community based organisations. Further work will be taken forward on a number of other proposed changes to the current charitable reliefs and exemptions, and the remaining decisions set out in the consultation report. These include the extension of partial relief to houses owned by ministers of religion and other similar clergy from April 2007, which will be contained in legislation to be brought forward next year.”The consultation documentation on the draft Order includes a short policy overview setting out the key issues, the draft Order itself and the associated Explanatory Memorandum. Both it and the consultation report and final Integrated Impact Assessment on charitable exemptions and reliefs are available on the Internet at: www.nics.gov.uk/ratingpolicy. After the 12 week consultation, which ends on 30 December, it is intended that the draft Order will be finalised, taking account of the views expressed, and laid at Westminster early in the new year.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs has recently closed consultation on proposals to increase civil and family court fees. An application for liability order would increase from 70 pence to £3, and a warrant of arrest would rise from £10 to £25The DCA want the fees increases to come into effect during the current financial year, and, if approved, they will come into effect from 30 December 2005.The Institute’s response has been broadly supportive of the proposals. It has, however, recommended the changes be delayed until April 2006. It has also sought clarification as to whether the new fees are to cover non-domestic rates as well as council tax, as only the latter appears to be included. The IRRV view is that if different fees for council tax and business rates are intended, this will be confusing and will complicate the local taxation enforcement process. Finally, the Institute points out that an opportunity has been missed in the consultation process to clarify the law as to when the council tax/rates liability order fees arise.

IRRV QUERIES DETAIL OF PROPOSED CIVIL COURT FEE INCREASES

news

insight november 2005 7

Town halls face a £2.2 billion black hole in their finances - equivalent to a rise of 10 percent or around £100 a year in council tax bills - unless the Government injects substantial extra cash into them, local government leaders have revealed.In its annual statement on council tax the Local Government Association (LGA) says the Government is instructing town halls to do ever more and meet costs over which they have no control, without providing an equivalent level of funding.Senior LGA members, from all political groups, have handed to ministers evidence on funding pressures, which is based on a survey of council finance directors covering almost 70 percent of local government spending. Pressures from rising costs of legislative and policy demands, and demographic trends, totalled £2.8 billion,

including: £663 million for elderly and adult services; £599 million for children’s services; £632 million for waste management and street cleansing; £669 million for anti-social behaviour, housing and pensions; and £292 million for transport.The Government has since restated its commitment to fund some of the new burdens imposed on councils, such as pensions, licensing and asylum seekers, so the funding gap now stands at £2.2 billion.Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, Chairman of the LGA, said: “This new evidence makes for bleak reading for council taxpayers. Although ministers have confirmed local government has been more successful than any other part of the public sector in making efficiency savings, we are still staring at a £2.2 billion black hole in town hall budgets.“The Government has introduced new standards and is making ever more legislative and policy demands on councils without providing an equivalent level of funding. The proposed increase in government grant of £300 million is not even enough to cover basic inflation.”Councils are doing everything they can to manage the pressures they face; making efficiency savings and managing costs. Over the last two years, ministers have recognised some of the pressures facing local authorities and have provided ‘one-off’ additional resources to help keep council tax low. These pressures have not gone away; if anything they have increased.

BLAIR ALLY TAKES OVER WORK AND PENSIONSFollowing the resignation of David Blunkett, the new Secrettary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton, is reported to be a moderniser who will push through the Prime Minister’s plans for welfare changes.Tony Blair wants radical reform, particularly of incapacity benefit and pensions, to be a major part of his political legacy. Mr Hutton said: “The Prime Minister has made clear my job is to press ahead with the Government’s radical welfare reform agenda.” But the incapacity benefit reforms may not go down well in Mr Hutton’s constituency, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, which has one of the highest levels of incapacity benefit claims in the country.

DISABILITY LAWS NEED SERIOUS THOUGHT - NOT A TICK BOX EXERCISE

The public sector must give serious thought - and not just tick boxes - to meet its new responsibilities under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 2005, according to Anne McGuire, minister for disabled people. She said the “bottom line” for the public sector was to think about disabled people’s needs ahead of time and not as an after thought.Speaking at a conference in London, Ms McGuire said: “While there has been progress towards equality for disabled people, the pace of change has been slow, and the challenges are still enormous. Wherever you look, you will find disabled people are worse off. This is why the Government and the public sector must work together to tackle this inequality and the new duty is an important step. Our public institutions need to give serious thought to the needs of disabled people. This should not be a tick box exercise, but integral to organisations’ culture.’’New laws next December will require all public bodies in Britain to lead by example and integrate disabled people in their policy as well as promoting ‘equality of opportunity’ for disabled people. This is similar to existing duties under race legislation and will be an important driver to achieving equality for millions of disabled people. Over 40,000 public bodies in Britain are likely to be affected in some way.

PRESSURE ON COUNCIL TAXPAYERS TO FUND £2.2 BILLION BLACK HOLE

ASSOCIATION NEWS

8 insight November 2005

A record number of people turned out to take part in this year’s Scottish IRRV golf event, sponsored by IBS and held at the Crieff Golf Club. Competitors took part in both the main competition and ladies event in temperatures approaching 80 degrees fahrenheit. With 27 golfers competing for the prestigious new Scottish IRRV trophy, the winner was going to have to play some outstanding golf. There were prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, a ladies prize, and ‘nearest the pin’ and ‘longest drive’ prizes, so opportunities existed for everyone in the field to win something. As the players returned to the club for well earned refreshments, some excellent golf had been played, with the lowest score of 21 points surpassing by some margin the previous year’s lowest score.The winner and the Scottish IRRV Golf

Champion for 2005, off his new lower handicap of 16, was Jacek Nowak with a fantastic 40 points. Jacek played some quality golf and fully deserved his victory. He received the trophy from Scottish Vice President Hilary Wilson before venturing into Crieff to celebrate (see photo above). Bill Loughrey at IBS said: “IBS is once again delighted to sponsor the Scottish IRRV golf event and look forward to our partnership continuing for many years. I would personally like thank Hilary Wilson for playing and hope we can introduce even more ladies next year. I would also like to thank David Magor for his participation and the magnificent new trophy. We look forward to seeing you all next year in Crieff.”

Scottish golfers turn up the heat at IRRV competition

GOLFING SUCCESS FOR THE LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE ASSOCIATION

The East Midlands Association held its September meeting at Kelham Hall, the headquarters of Newark and Sherwood District Council. Pictured with Kevin Stewart are the two speakers who gave presentations to the meeting – Chris Stewart of CS & A training (left) and Chris Bull, Director of the BFI (right).

EAST MIDLANDS ASSOCIATION SEPTEMBER MEETING

Q. What do you enjoy most about your role as secretary?A. Like most association officers, contributing to the promotion of the Institute’s profile and organising events with the other association members.

Q. What do you hope to achieve with the Northern Counties association in the future?A. I would like to see more of our younger members being involved in the running of the association, in order to erase the perception that it is an old boys club.

Q. What do you consider to be the greatest challenge facing local association’s at present?A. Getting student members to keep their interest after completing their studies.

Q. What impact do you think another four years of Labour rule will have on associations and local government in general?A. More changes for local government puts more pressure on our members, who will then be unable to commit time to their association.

Q. Do you have any advice to offer other associations?A. Keep in regular contact with neighbouring associations – share problems and successes with each other.

Q. If you had to choose one politician to represent your association, who would it be and why?A. No politician, but I would like to see someone like Sir Alan Sugar running things. He would be the person to get things done!

ASSOCIATION PROFILE

Russell Legross is secretary of the Northern Counties Association

The Lancashire and Cheshire Association has been successful in golf matches played against the West Midlands Association (sponsored by Equita) and the Yorkshire and District Association (sponsored by Meritec). The two matches, played during the summer, raised over £300 for charities, including the IRRV Benevolent Fund. Captain of the Lancashire and Cheshire Association, Richard Mason, said: “The events have become a standing feature in the social activities of the associations involved and give us the opportunity to forge stronger links with them. Sponsorship of these events enables generous donations towards charity to be made and we are very grateful to Equita and Meritec for their support this year.”

Longest Drive Reg Peat

Nearest to the Pin Ann Wood

Ladies Competition Hilary Wilson (Under new R&A rules Hilary won by virtue of playing the nicer golf!)

3rd place David Devaney 36 points

2nd place Chris McEvan 38 points


FROM HERE TO THERE

A new strategy document has been released by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP),

entitled: ‘Reducing Fraud in the Benefits System – Achievements and Ambitions’.

It outlines how the Government has built on the strategy and policies outlined in the 1998 Command Paper. ‘Beating fraud is everyone’s business: securing the future’ and the 1999 Command Paper, ‘A new contract for welfare: safeguarding social security’.

Some of the perceived successes are: n paying more attention to getting the benefit right at the outset, keeping it right once it was in payment, and putting it right where there were clear abuses or errors; n creating a professional, intelligence-led detection force and equipping them with new powers through the Social Security Fraud Act 2001; n supporting local authorities in their fight against fraud and in the drive to reduce housing benefit fraud; n introducing a national anti-benefit fraud advertising campaign, and increasing the capacity of the National Benefit Fraud Hotline to receive information from the public about benefit fraud.

The Government has said this document is their pledge to continue driving down fraud by, among other things: n using new technology to help stop fraud as early as possible and to enable the DWP to work as efficiently as possible; n increasing the use of risk profiling to identify the types of people whose claims are more likely to be fraudulent; n use the proposed identity card to combat fraud and speed up benefit processing by verifying customers’ identities more quickly.

One of the principal strategies is an improvement in the data matching facilities currently available to the DWP. There are plans to pilot systems from 2006 that will improve links between the DWP, Revenues and Customs and the Home Office, as well as agencies such as the Child Support Agency and private sector partners.

The Housing Benefit Matching Service is already proving to be a valuable tool, and I have no doubt an enhanced data matching facility will prove even more valuable. The ability to data match has improved rapidly over the last few years and the DWP now have access to all Inland

Revenues and Customs data needed to ensure claims are correct. The DWP is now working to improve the timeliness of the links – so people who are working while claiming benefit (or concealing the amount of savings they have) can be detected sooner.

The DWP is hoping to use the travel data available from the Home Office to identify individuals whose benefit claims are invalidated by residence abroad (a third of Pension Credit fraud is due to individuals moving abroad and not telling the DWP).

The DWP intends to run a pilot early in 2006, evaluating the effectiveness of matching data with credit reference agencies to identify cases of ‘living together’ fraud, enabling them to identify cases of fraud of this type up to 18 months earlier. Consideration will be given to extending this type of data-matching activity to the private sector to detect significant frauds in other types of benefit, such as helping the Child Support Agency to trace parents who should pay child support maintenance.

The proposed identity card will provide further data-sharing opportunities, but the precise way it will be used will not been finalised until all the details of the card’s functions have been settled. It is expected to impact on the following areas: n identity fraud: the DWP will use the biometric facilities provided by the card to ascertain an individual’s right to benefit; n ‘living together’ fraud and residency fraud: address data provided by the new National Identity Register will enable the DWP to check addresses more quickly; n preventing work in the informal economy: provided the ‘right to work’ status is captured on the card or its supporting database and is accessible to DWP and employers, it will be easier to check workers have a legitimate right to work, thereby reducing the use of clandestine labour and abuses associated with it.

This new strategy follows heavy criticism of the Government’s existing anti-fraud work by the Commons Public Accounts Committee, which claim £3 billion is lost to fraud and error every year. The DWP claim a figure (excluding error) of £900 million. n

The DWP are trying to improve their data matching facilities, says Pat Doherty

MATCH MAKING

Pat Doherty IRRV CPFA is a consultant and trainer and Past President of the IRRV

Email: pkdconsultancy.co.uk

insight November 2005 11

VIEWPOINT

COUNTING THE COST Tom Dixon explains the true value of the council tax revaluation

T he ‘indefinite postponement’ (political speak for cancellation) of the 2007 council tax

revaluation appears a triumph of ignorance and political expediency over reason and fairness. Whether this is actually the case will depend entirely on the Government’s next move. If work on the revaluation is stopped, and the carefully assembled team at the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) are prevented from completing their task, it will represent a monumental waste of money that will not be recovered by a reversal of the decision in two or more years time.

If the exercise is completed the whole country will benefit from a unique national database of property information and values, which will have applications far outside of council tax and can easily be updated. An extension of the timeframe for completion would allow for the impact of computer assisted mass appraisal to be assessed, and for a consideration of whether to stay with tax bands or move to discrete individual property values.

Determining the extent and fiscal requirement of local authority responsibilities and then planning the necessary revenue raising powers and sources of finance is logical, as the IRRV has repeatedly explained. If Sir Michael Lyons can bring his review to a rational conclusion, the issue of local government restructuring can be determined and the current half-cocked arrangement of administrative tiers rationalised.

Council tax in its present form is in need of significant restructuring. It is regressive and does not adequately relate to ability to pay. But it was introduced as an emergency stop gap following the collapse of the poll

tax and the fact local government and the VOA delivered a new tax base in less than a year should not be forgotten.

No form of taxation can continue based on an outdated and inaccurate database. Income tax is revalued every month as salaries change, and its net annual return to the Treasury is consequently extremely difficult to forecast. By contrast council tax is predictable and, more significantly, far more difficult to avoid or evade.

The hysteria attached to the 2007 council tax revaluation is founded on official ignorance and disinformation in the press. For England, the Government are statutorily restricted to raise no more than the current amount of council tax plus inflation following revaluation. Increases in capital values apply to premises, but do not necessarily lead to increases in tax payable. Often the amount of tax payable will be reduced via redistribution. Only those properties which have risen in value significantly relative to the national average increase may see an increase in tax payable. This will allow others to receive the reduction due to them, and a transitional scheme would cushion any such increases.

A genuine deferment of the revaluation, which allows completion of the enormous technical task (the largest in world history) already near the point of delivery, will enable Sir Michael Lyons to complete his remit. An outright cancellation of this massive exercise would be an irresponsible act, tarnishing the reputation of this Government and those associated with it.

Tom Dixon is Executive Director of Sanderson Weatherall Chartered

Surveyors and a member of IRRV Council

Judges’ Poor Perception of Housing Benefit

A recent report entitled, ‘The exercise of judicial discretion in rent arrears cases’ published by the Department of Constitutional Affairs, paints a fairly bleak picture of housing benefit administration. The report is based on a study into how judges exercise their discretion in cases where social landlords (i.e. local authorities and housing associations) seek possession against their secure or assured tenants on the grounds of rent arrears.

The research showed there were different patterns of decisions between courts and between individual judges in the same court. Various possible explanations for this were explored, including: differences between courts in levels of arrears; the familiarity which claimants have with their local district judge, leading to orders being tailored to those they know the judge is likely to grant; the prevalence of housing benefit problems; attendance by the defendant at court; the availability of housing advice for defendants, in the community and court.

Judges’ opinion of the administration of housing benefit by local authorities is clearly very low. The study states housing benefit problems contribute to an increased number of adjournments.

The study states most district judges are well informed about housing benefit, both the details of the system as it should work and the local conditions under which it is administered. All of them are sympathetic and patient with defendants, and are aware landlords are losing rental income while housing benefit problems are debated and possession cases are adjourned.

Most district judges have become cynical about the capability of housing benefit administration to deal with claims, as a result of their experience of hearing cases involving lost application forms and other information, incorrect assessment of benefit, and administrative delay, the report says.

It is disappointing to read such comments. They do reflect problems incurred in some parts of the country a few years ago and still being experienced in a small number of poor performing authorities, but it is a pity the report does not recognise recent improvements made by the efforts of local authorities. The research is inevitably out-of-date. The studies referred to pre-date the Performance Standards initiatives by DWP and the additional investment in benefits administration over the past two years.

The study was primarily qualitative, (although some quantitative data was obtained), which means the statements reported in the study may simply be reports of excuses – there is no indication they are assessments of actual evidence or any analysis has been undertaken to verify the validity of the statements. Regrettably perception often appears to be the truth – even if it is no longer true.

BENEFITS

A t Test Valley Borough Council we wanted to improve the speed and quality of our benefits claims

service, but we faced a number of challenges. We had tried to make our letters and forms more user-friendly, but there were still problems getting all the necessary information from claimants. The rural nature of our community meant it was difficult for some residents to travel to our offices to get help and advice.

Home visits offered an answer, but in the past there had been problems with delays and duplication of effort. Benefits officers had to take down details and re-key them in the office. They did not always have all the information to hand to deal with claims on the spot. Often, officers had to take away important documents to be photocopied.

A mobile working solution that integrated with back-office systems and allowed officers to carry out assessments using laptops and tablet PCs, was the answer. Our solution, from Anite Public Sector, allows staff to process claims and capture all the key information on the first home visit.

Data from the Housing Benefit Matching Service is loaded into Anite, and officers choose which claimants to visit in their home. The information needed for each visit is downloaded to a tablet PC on a daily basis. This information is used to create an electronic intervention form for each customer, already containing relevant data from Anite. The customer can sign the electronic form

on the tablet PC, so the form does not need to be printed. The visiting benefits officer can also take digital photos of evidence such as financial documents, and link the photos to the form.

At the end of the visit, the new information and completed claims forms are automatically uploaded into the Anite back-office system when the tablet PC is connected to the network.

Only documents requiring action are routed to assessment staff.

Electronic forms are automatically routed back to the Anite document imaging system, so there is no need to manually review or scan them. Benefit assessors only receive complete claims, ready for assessment. The new automated process and electronic forms also use less paper and the council has saved 10,000 sheets of paper a year. Staff have been enthusiastic about the new ways of working. Training officers to use the hardware and software took less than two weeks.

The greatest gain though has been the improvement in customer service. Benefits officers now visit all claimants where an intervention is required, and this has helped enhance the Council’s image with residents. The use of the digital cameras and tablet PCs has been perceived as being, “extremely professional” by our claimants. Even the most elderly and vulnerable of citizens have found the process straightforward.

We carried out a customer satisfaction survey and 98 per cent of customers said the process of renewing their claim was user-friendly and easy. They also found signing the screen on the tablet simple and straightforward.

The benefits service at Test Valley Borough Council has made significant improvements in its headline indicators, thanks in a large part to the introduction of mobile working.

From 2003/04 to 2004/05: the time taken to process a claim fell from 42 days to just 29; the time taken to process a change of circumstances fell from 18 days to nine; the percentage of new claims decided within 14 days rose from 73 per cent to 85 per cent; the accuracy of processing rose from 94 per cent to 95 per cent; the cost per claim fell from £81.42 to £80.11.

The Anite mobile working solution has speeded up processing, reduced costs, and provided a better service. To find out more, please visit www.anite.com/mobile working. n


“ In our customer satisfaction survey

98 per cent of customers said the process of

renewing their claim was user-friendly

and easy ”

OUT AND ABOUT

A mobile working solution will broaden the benefits horizon, says Carol Moore

Carol Moore is Head of Revenues

at Test Valley Borough Council


COVER STORY

T he Government wants revenues and benefits services to make £75 million per annum in efficiency

savings by 2007/08. However, the Audit Commission, having recently completed a study on efficiency issues in revenues and benefits, believes they can save much more.

English councils spend £1 billion each year on collecting council tax and business rates and processing housing and council tax benefit claims. The Government’s efficiency review (otherwise known as the Gershon report) expects councils to make efficiency savings of 2.5 per cent per annum. The efficiency report referred to revenues and benefits as ‘transactional services’ and highlighted this area for potential efficiency gains. Our study, which included visits to over 30 councils across England, examined the potential for realising these savings as well as the barriers to progress (see Figure 1).

The study commenced with an examination into the large variations in administration costs between councils dealing with similar amounts of activity. It will be of no surprise to revenues and benefits practitioners that direct comparison between councils is complex. Methods of allocating internal overheads vary and our report explores some of the reasons for this. However, internal charges do not account for all variations, and the report examines some of the other important influences on high or low cost services.

Many initiatives have taken place to improve efficiency. These include: electronic document management (EDM); joint recruitment and training initiatives; increasing direct debit (DD) take-up; outsourcing; and home working.

However, we found limited examples of councils assessing the cost-benefit of their efficiency initiatives. Consequently, few were able to quantify the efficiency gains. It is difficult for other councils to assess the potential benefit of these initiatives. Measuring the benefits of these sorts of initiatives can make a valuable contribution to

Efficiency savings are a challenge for every council, says the Audit Commission. Tim Savill reports

ON THE QUEST FOR EFFICIENCY

ph

ot

os

fr

om

ww

w.v

isit

bu

en

ap

ar

k.c

om

COVER STORY

a council’s annual efficiency statements, and signal a positive approach to value for money.

Comparison is an important tool to help councils identify the potential for improved efficiency. Comparison based on activity levels remains difficult, as information held tends to be based around fixed volumes, such as the number of properties or benefit cases at a point in time. Most councils keep a record of the volume of activity for these services, such as people moving house (which impacts on both council tax and benefits). However, there is no robust system in place to capture the data on a local or national basis, and this makes it more difficult to assess the impact this may have on costs.

Councils are involved in local benchmarking groups, but there is no real acknowledgement from them as to which council is the most efficient. While it is healthy for councils to challenge the data, there remains a lack of trust by councils in some of the local benchmarking groups.

Our study revealed many councils see several barriers to changing their current working arrangements. Examples include: risk aversion; service policies; staffing issues; IT issues; and external pressures. Councils need to examine these to ensure they have explored all potential avenues to achieve efficiencies. We will be supplementing our report with an interactive tool to help councils examine some of the issues in dealing with these barriers.

We found the greatest potential for more efficient working was through increased partnership working. There is no clear ‘one size fits all’ solution and councils need

to consider what is best for them and their local community. Partnerships have tended to be stronger when they have developed because there was a need for one to start with. The financial benefits have followed, but have not been the main driver. Our research has also concluded there is no clear relationship between the cost or performance of a service and whether or not it is delivered by the council or by the private sector.

We have explored some of the features of successful partnerships. The main factors are: 1. Trust: so problems can be shared and approached in a constructive manner. 2. Bravery: taking a constructive approach to partnership working and meeting difficulties as they arise. 3. Strong staff involvement. 4. A real need and clear business objectives. 5. Opportunities to share in joint procurement (such as jointly purchasing a new computer system). 6. Robust governance arrangements.

London costs are, on average, over 40 per cent higher than the rest of the country (2003/04 estimates). This is mainly due to the higher cost of living. The generally low levels of unemployment make it difficult for councils to recruit and retain high-quality staff. High staff turnover creates difficulties in dealing with high volumes of work. Staff from agencies are used to fill the gaps and a strong market for this labour exists. Benefit assessors can earn more money working for an agency.

The report also identifies the potential savings councils can achieve if they can bring their costs down to the non-London

average. The potential to relocate back office functions to other parts of the country is challenging, and there are a number of emerging approaches to this.

Nearly all the councils we visited told us there is room to improve efficiency through a higher take-up of DD. Although DD is the most efficient way to collect local taxes, the collection rate through this method varies from less than 30 per cent to over 70 per cent. A further Audit Commission study to highlight best practice in this area – and housing rents – is currently in progress.

The study has demonstrated there is scope for achieving efficiency savings of much more than the Gershon report’s £75 million. Though major reductions in cost may take some time to achieve as existing arrangements are complex, councils that approach this task with enthusiasm should secure savings so they can invest further in frontline services.

From 2005/06, the Audit Commission will deliver an annual value for money judgement for all councils. This will assess how councils manage, promote and improve the value for money of their services, including how well they make savings in the administration of revenues and benefits. n

The report ‘The efficiency challenge: the administration costs of revenues and benefits’ is available at www.audit-commision.gov.uk.

Tim Savill is a Performance Specialist at the Audit Commission

Email: [email protected]


ON THE QUEST FOR EFFICIENCY

Figure 1


awards

1. Excellence in Education, Training and Development Croydon London Borough Council“The revenues and benefits team of Croydon Council was delighted to win the IRRV Performance Award for Excellence in Education, Training and Development. We recognise the achievements of the other three finalists and were excited to be among them. The award acknowledges the hard work, commitment and achievements of every single member of the team over the past year. We know there are many challenges ahead, but with our continued commitment to training and development we are confident we can meet them.”

2. Excellence in Social Inclusion Southwark Local Borough Council“This is a particular achievement for Southwark given the strong links this has to our anti-poverty strategy. This award is all the more remarkable as it is the first time an award in this area has been given by the IRRV, and demonstrates again the effort and commitment made by both Southwark and its partners in developing this service. Excellent news!”

3. Benefits Team of the Year Harrow London Borough Council“We were absolutely delighted to win. This award is recognition of the excellent service Harrow has been providing over the last 18 months. After two critical BFI reports in 2000 and 2003 we were keen to prove we had turned a corner, and this award has allowed us to do that. We are now a top quartile service with 85 per cent customer satisfaction.”

4. Revenues Team of the Year North Warwickshire District Council“This award is a real recognition, not only of all the hard work and efforts of a dedicated revenues team, but also of the ‘can do’ attitude demonstrated by all the division, including benefit staff and support service staff who have all played a major role in contributing to our success.

“As a small district council we punch above our weight by being an upper quartile performer in the collection of council tax and non-domestic rates. By working in partnership with like-minded partners, including Bristow and Sutor, Amber Valley District Council and the other Warwickshire councils, we hve been able to deliver real service improvements, choice and cost

IRRV PERFORMANCE AWARDS 2005

1. From left to right: Roger Black, Mark Fowler, David Petler, Lisa Wheatley, Lisa Gilbert, Ann Barnes, Alexis Allen, Marie Klein, Benisha Edwards, Alan Silcock, Graham Cadle, IRRV President John Roberts, Darren Walklate from sponsors Meritec.

2. Left to right: Roger Black, Chris Boylett, Tom Lane from sponsors Civica, Paul Rudd, Nicole Homer, Chris Leggett, Jane Couchman, Claire Higgs, Dominic Cain, Jan Fenlon, Lorraine Zuleta and IRRV President John Roberts.

3. From left to right: Roger Black, Michael Carney, Anu Bansal, Alf Curling, Marion Ikpeazu, Kam Patel,

Fern Siverio, Mark Buckingham, Griselda Colvin, IRRV President John Roberts, David Ashmore,

Malcolm Fowler from sponsors Northgate

4. From left to right: Roger Black, Norma Tallis, Lynn Butler, Kerry Mornington, Sue Sarson, Richard Moore, Steve Barber,

Andrea Illsley, Tracey Kettle, Karen Chadwick Yates, Claire Sandy, Josie Marshall, Ian Buckingham, Sonia Kaur,

John Roberts, Julie Childs, Peter O’Brien (Capita).

awards


IRRV PERFORMANCE AWARDS 2005

savings to our customers. This has enabled us to keep our small company ethos and speed, but benefit from the synergy and economies of our larger counterparts.

“This award builds on our sucesses with direct debit in recent years, and has put North Warwickshire firmly on the local government map. We are determined to enjoy our success by continuing to work hard and share and develop best practice, ensuring we continue to move onwards and upwards.”

5. Valuation Team of the Year Valuation Office Agency (VOA)“We were absolutely delighted the Valuation Office Agency was named as the Valuation Team of the Year at the 2005 IRRV Performance Awards Dinner, particularly because the award comes from our fellow professionals at the IRRV.

“The preparation of the 2005 business rates revaluation involved significant modernisation in terms of increased transparency and improved accessibility for the ratepayer. It is very pleasing that the substantial achievements made by the VOA have been recognised, both by ratepayers and fellow professionals. The award is testament to staff throughout the VOA who worked so hard to deliver

the 2005 revaluation, and to all those ratepayers, business groups and professional bodies who worked closely with us every step of the way. We shall look to build on this to improve customer service further in the coming years.”

6. Best Use of Technology SUMA (Alicante)“It was a tremendously exciting moment for those of us who were at the awards ceremony, particularly as we were all aware of the quality of the other finalists. We were specially moved by the warmth of our British colleagues, who made us feel so at home. We were extremely grateful to everyone. “It was a wonderful opportunity to explain the supramunicipal model of the province of Alicante and the use we make of ICT in tax administration. For Suma, and the 140 town councils we represent, it was an honour to have our work recognised outside Spain. Last but not least, the award will motivate the technical and non-technical staff of Suma to continue in the search for excellence.”

7. Excellence in Debt Management South Lancashire Council“This award from our peers is recognition of the success of our approach to debt

1. From left to right: Roger Black, Mark Fowler, David Petler, Lisa Wheatley, Lisa Gilbert, Ann Barnes, Alexis Allen, Marie Klein, Benisha Edwards, Alan Silcock, Graham Cadle, IRRV President John Roberts, Darren Walklate from sponsors Meritec.

5. From left to right: Roger Black, Tony Capp, Steve Perkins, Sarah Cowdrey, Vic East, Joe Fogg, Kieran Ryan from sponsors Trinity and IRRV President John Roberts.

6. Left to right: Roger Black, Richard Newby from sponsors Comino, Jose Lopez (Vice president of Suma), Carmen Jimenez (Vicepresident of Alicante Provincial Council), IRRV President John Roberts, Jose Trigueros (Director of Suma), Silvia Garcia (Head of Foreign Taxpayers Deptartment), Ramon Andarias (Head of Technology Deptartment).

7. From left to right: Roger Black, John Campaigne (BCW Group Plc), Richard Fiddis (Managing Director for UK and Ireland of Experian, the sponsors), John Thomson (BCW Group Plc), Vince McErlane (BCW Group Plc), Elaine Booth (BCW Group Plc), David Dickson (BCW Group Plc), Fraser Morrison (South Lanarkshire Council), Emma Smith (South Lanarkshire Council), Liz McWilliam (BCW Group Plc), Grace Gentles (South Lanarkshire Council), John Roberts (IRRV National President).

PHOTOS TAKEN BY ANDREW MARDELL


awards

collection. Our approach has been based on face-to-face communication with our customers to establish where problems arise, and come up with repayment plans which are suitable to both parties.“The results speak for themselves, with substantial increases in collection performance while at the same time substantial reductions in the numbers of customers who have legal action taken against them. The award is recognition of the hard work from staff of both South Lanarkshire Council and the BCW Group over many years.”

8. Anti-fraud Team of the Year Blackpool Council“The Council’s investigations team has been very well regarded regionally for a number of years, and this was confirmed by wining the prestigious IRRV Anti-Fraud Team of the Year Award. It is a tribute to the commitment and ability of our staff that they have received national recognition for

the standard of their work. It is also pleasing to have demonstrated a commitment to maintaining high standards of performance whilst doubling the size of the team.”

9. Excellence in Customer Care Liverpool City Council“Liverpool’s revenues and benefits service has

undergone a massive transformation over the past three years to become more responsive, customer-friendly and efficient. The award recognises the hard work and dedication of the staff in the service, who have driven up standards and lifted us from the bottom of the league to meet top national standards.”

9. Roger Black, Les Evans, Phil Robinson, Martin Jungnitz, Julie Francis, Peter O’Brien, Lesley Mathison, Debbie Judic, Peter Cosgrove, Lisa Purves, Lynn Riley, Chris Ward and Roger Littlewood of sponsors HBOS.

8. From left to right: Roger Black, Deb Wills, Dave Jordan, David Wolfenden, Chris Reeve, Mike Spencer, Stephen Dunstan, Paul Brook, Mark Dutch, Jonathon North, Tony Cooke and Bill Loughrey of IBS.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE


This year’s Annual Conference in Manchester was the biggest the IRRV has ever held, with 1100

delegates attending over the three days, Kate Miller reports. The exhibition in the G-Mex centre displayed the diversity and technological sophistication of the companies IRRV members are working with. The Performance Awards attracted the largest number of entries so far and the professionalism of the teams is visibly improving every year.

There is a striking gap between this professionalism and the chaotic context in which local taxation practitioners find themselves operating at present. The council tax revaluation has been postponed, and Sir Michael Lyons and his team have been plunged into the (thankless?) task of finding local government’s future role.

In his opening speech, IRRV President John Roberts was blunt about the IRRV’s “disappointment” concerning the revaluation. “The last postponement led to the discrediting of a perfectly sound system of local taxation and the introduction of the ill-fated poll tax,” he said.

The IRRV has drawn up an open letter to the Government, “pointing out the dangers of

postponement and urging further consideration of the need for a revaluation, before the council tax is brought into disrepute.” The letter supports, “investment in new valuation methodology, such as computer aided mass appraisal, which harness the latest technology. We also urge the Government

to continue the preparatory work intended for the 2007 revaluation, so the data already collected is put to good use.”

Improving the take-up of council tax benefit, particularly among pensioners, has been proposed as one way to address the unpopularity

of council tax. But the benefit system is full of highly complex and off putting rules, Mr Roberts said. “We need more research into such issues as the capital cut-off, notional capital and non-dependant deductions, which are at the root of many of the issues concerning take-up.”

The IRRV could help here, he said. The relief scheme designed by the IRRV for Northern Ireland’s new domestic rating system, “looks afresh at the distribution of funds to those most in need, addressing all of the above issues, together with the vexed question of council tax single person discount.’

Baroness Andrews, housing and planning minister in the Lords, told the conference postponing the council tax revaluation was the right thing to do in the circumstances. “It is important to set out how determined we are to create a strong and sustainable role for local government and a strong funding base,” she said. “The two are inextricably linked.”

The postponement provides an opportunity gather more ideas on reforming local taxation, she said. “We’d like to know more about your views on how to improve council tax,” she told IRRV delegates.

“ In his opening speech, President

John Roberts was blunt

about the IRRV’s disapointment concerning the revaluation ”

REWIND TO MANCHESTER

Central and local government can argue over funding, but there is no sign of the public joining in the debate, Ben Day, senior policy analyst with the Lyons Inquiry, told the IRRV conference.

The Lyons team has done extensive research into public attitudes and found widespread confusion and ignorance about the role of local authorities and how services are paid for.

While the Lyons Inquiry has been charged with examining the future role of local government, Mr Day made it clear that what is missing is any public clamour for reform. “It is hard to see where the pressure will come from,” he said.

Public attitudes to council tax are often contradictory, he said. Research showed people tend to think housing wealth should not be taxed, partly because it is not linked to ability to pay. Income tax is seen as the fairest tax, but people were suspicious of a local income tax.

While the people surveyed thought it was right to have council tax revaluations, they did not agree a household whose home had gone up in value should pay more than people whose property had not gone up.

“The public are confused,” Mr Day said.The IRRV, in its submission to the

Lyons Inquiry, has focused on detailed reforms that could make local taxation work better, Gary Watson, chair of the IRRV’s local taxation and revenues faculty,

told the conference. He feared the Lyons team, with its

expanded remit of looking at the role of local government, would lose sight of crucial council tax and business rates matters.

The IRRV believes council tax should be retained, but based on individual capital values, not banding, he said. There should be more revaluations, not fewer. Frequent

Gary Watson is chair of the IRRV Local Taxation and Revenues Faculty

Benefits minister James Plaskitt used his speech to the conference to announce a new initiative to increase housing and council tax benefit among pensioners.

“It is important that pensioners who are entitled to help with their council tax bills get that help as quickly and easily as possible. We have now made the process much simpler for people to get the benefits they are entitled to,” he said.

“We have tested the three-page form, with details completed over the phone, for pensioners already getting the pension credit guarantee but not claiming council tax benefit. This approach has proved successful and many customers are now getting their council tax paid in full. The average rebates people are receiving are over £700.

“From December, this short application process will be extended to all new customers who call to claim pension credit. Customers will only have to give their details once to claim both council tax benefit and

pension credit.” The announcement was generally welcomed by delegates.

The Minister also talked about local housing allowance, the centrepiece of the DWP’s benefit reforms. The Government will press ahead with piloting a local housing allowance (LHA) scheme for council and housing association tenants, he said.

The forthcoming housing benefit bill will introduce national rollout of the LHA scheme for tenants in the private rented sector. Devising a scheme for the social rented sector will be much more difficult, Mr Plaskitt admitted, as tenants have little scope to ‘shop around’ for their accommodation.

Private sector tenants have seen real “improvements in life changes” through LHA, he said. In particular, LHA recipients see themselves as much more able to take-up employment. “It would be wrong to deny those improvements to social rented sector tenants,” the minister said.


xxxxxxxxxxANNUAL CONFERENCE

BENEFITS ANNOUNCEMENT

THE LYONS INQUIRY

“ Gary Watson feared the Lyons

team, with its expanded remit, would lose sight of crucial council tax and business rates matters”

REWIND TO MANCHESTER

revaluations, which are now possible with current technology, will keep values up to date, while more frequent business rate revaluations will remove the need for complex transitional schemes.

Business rate exemptions should be reviewed, Mr Watson said, including the biggest exemption of all – agricultural land.

ANNUAL CONFERENCE


Terence Sandiford, Head of Relationship Development at Experian, used his session to demonstrate how the collection and sharing of data is central to the enforcement and collection challenge facing local authorities.

Mr Sandiford said local government continues to lead the way in terms of performance in this area, but also spoke of internal and external challenges, including the notoriously incomplete and badly maintained nature of public service databases. The public sector needs to realise the importance of its own data and ensure it is both accurate and up-to-date, he said. He called for a grown-up debate on how to improve data sharing between councils and outside agencies.

Experian is seeking to help rectify this problem through its newly launched six step Business Excellence approach, which Mr Sandiford wrote about in the October issue

of Insight. The approach considers how the effective use of data, intelligence and decision support at each stage of the collection and enforcement process can help maximise collections. It is based on the principle the more a local authority knows about its customers, the more effectively they can tailor their collection method to the individual.

Mr Sandiford stressed the need for controls to be in place in regards to sharing data, and reminded delegates the Data Protection Act demanded a specific purpose to be cited in order for information to be released. However, he also described how it is possible to continuously monitor any individual the moment they appear in structured society. Phone bills, bank accounts and credit card purchases all allow our movements to be traced and our identities to be pieced together. Experian claims this data can help authorities understand the personal circumstances of their customers and treat them appropriately, thereby optimising revenue return.

One of the highlights of the conference was the session by Polly Toynbee, journalist with the Guardian newspaper. Drawing on her book, ‘Hard work: life in low-paid Britain’ her talk was a reminder of the importance of delegates’ work and its impact on the most vulnerable members of our society, Heather Goldstein writes.

Inspired by Tony Blair’s promise to abolish

child poverty by 2020, Ms Toynbee took up the challenge of living on minimum wage for a month to try and gauge the nature and extent of poverty in modern day Britain. She spoke of how she moved to a council estate in Lambeth, calculated and existed on the housing and council tax benefit she was entitled to, and searched for and undertook several low paid jobs. Her observations were startling.

Most low paid jobs are within the public sector and done by women, she said. Fulfilling essential pastoral roles, they were undervalued and seen as having no potential. She partially blamed the contracting out of public sector work for this, but said the Labour government were scared to ask why people society values are treated so badly and paid so little.

Though the Government appear to have stopped the gap between the rich and poor getting wider, Ms Toynbee said they had not yet managed to make it smaller or increased social cohesion, with social mobility getting worse over the last 30 years. She gave the example of the Nordic countries, who she said had made political choices in order to close this gap and foster a more sharing society.

She praised tax credits and the huge transfer in wealth they had managed to bring about, raising nearly a quarter of children out of poverty already. But she also acknowledged the problem of their maladministration, and emphasised they could not bear the whole burden of ending child poverty.

Stephen Hughes, acting chief executive of Birmingham City Council, had been invited to put some ‘controversial’ ideas to the conference, and he did not disappoint. Local government should consider nationalising business rates collection, or “off-shoring” some of its revenues and benefits processing to India, he told delegates.

There is great pressure on local authorities to do more with less money, Mr Hughes said. This is coming, not from the Gershon agenda, “a red herring” in his view, but from rising customer expectations and the fact council tax rises or central government cannot provide revenue. He urged delegates to think about finding their own solutions, before cuts are forced on them. “It’s in our own hands,” he said.

While off-shoring jobs might not be politically acceptable, non-domestic rates collection should be addressed, he said. Business rates are a national tax and the Government is not going to hand them back to local authorities, he believed. “If we don’t act ourselves, the Government will nationalise NDR collection.”

Other radical ideas came from Dave Wetzel, vice chair of transport for London, who argued for a land tax as a source of revenue for local government. Landowners gain hugely from public investment and these gains should be taxed, he said, so they could be redistributed to the ordinary taxpayer.

London’s Jubilee line extension, paid for out of normal taxation, cost £3.5 billion. Land values near the new Jubilee line stations have increased by £13 billion. The valuers in the audience spotted many flaws in his arguments, but it was a thought provoking session.

THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING

POLLY AND POVERTY

“ Mr Hughes urged delegates

to think about finding their own

solutions, before cuts are forced on them.

“It is in our own hands,” he said ”

GOLFERS TESTED BY TOUGH CONDITIONS AT THE ANNUAL IRRV GOLF EVENTThe annual IRRV golf event, sponsored by IBS OPENSystems, took place at the Shrigley Hall Golf and Country Club in October. 35 competitors took part, in windy conditions on a challenging course terrain. There were prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, as well as ‘nearest the pin’ and longest drive. The winner was Bernard Hayes from Preston City Council, with 32 points on a handicap of 14. He was followed by Peter Short from Chiltern District Council, and Peter Jenner from Sefton Borough Council who both finished on a 27 points.

FIRST-TIME ExHIBITOR FINDS CONFERENCE A GREAT SUCCESS

CCS Enforcement Services Ltd this year attended for the first time the IRRV’s Annual Conference and Exhibition. The company promoted their pre-debt registration service for parking and comprehensive range of recovery services – council tax, non-domestic rates and sundry debt.

“Being part of this major event for IRRV members has been really beneficial to us,” said Rob Stevens IRRV, Sales and Marketing Director for CCS Enforcement Services Ltd. “The exhibition and conference gave us excellent opportunities to network and meet many key people from local authorities and to enjoy the social side as well with the Performance Awards dinner.”

CCS Enforcement Services Ltd sponsored the popular table competition at IRRV Performance Awards and Gala dinner held on Thursday 20 October. It donated a magnum of champagne to the winners of the competition, which required entrants to predict the winners of each Performance Awards category. It was won by North Warwickshire Borough Council who also won Revenues Team of the Year Award.

IBS will again be sponsoring the golf events at the IRRV’s Scottish Conference and Annual Conference in 2006.

1st placeBernard Hayes, Preston City Council, 32 points

2nd placePeter Short, Chiltern District Council, 27 points

3rd placePeter Jenner, Sefton Borough Council, 27 points

Nearest pin Esteban Camps, Rugby Borough council

Longest drive Ray Dart, Halton Borough Council

Borough CouncilExhibitors Prize - the IBS Bowls

Barry Naylor, Dukes Bailiffs

ALL CONFERENCE PHOTOS TAKEN BY ANDREW MARDELL

XXXXXXXXXXEDUCATION

Insight November 2005 27

Having looked at the options for gaining NVQ training for our revenues and benefits department, we decided to set up an in-house IRRV NVQ approved assessment centre. Halton wanted to do this independently with no external partner, because we have long-term ambitions to become a regional assessment centre. Halton will then be able to offer NVQ training to other local authorities.

We analysed the internal and external costs of setting up an in-house centre (see table) and decided the investment would be worthwhile. It is crucial the authority should have managerial commitment to putting in the necessary resources. However, going the in-house route can be more cost effective than using external contractors to deliver the service. We retain control of the assessment centre, enabling us to make appropriate decisions for its long term viability. ■ For more information on setting up an IRRV assessment centre please contact Lindsay Frankland at [email protected] or telephone 020 7691 8981.

Becoming an NVQ asessment centre

is a viable exercise, says Peter McCann

Peter McCann is Head of Revenues and

Benefits at Halton Borough Council


The Hertfordshire Training Consortium has made a successful bid to the Department for Work and Pensions Performance Standards fund, winning £144,700 for benefits training leading towards the IRRV’s NVQ qualification.

Ten Hertfordshire district councils have formed the Consortium in partnership with Chris Stewart and Associates, who launched the training in October.

Graham Cox, benefits manager at Dacorum borough council, said: “This provides good access to quality training, ensuring all our assessors have the opportunity to train to the highest level”.

New Members will be back next month.

HERTFORDSHIRE WORK TOGETHER TO DELIVER NVQS

The IRRV Annual Conference is over for another year, Christmas will soon be upon us and all students are once again in study mode.

At the distance learning centre, we have nearly delivered all the modules and hope everyone has enough study material to keep them at their desks. If there are any queries please email us at [email protected].

I will take this opportunity to mention the new web address: http://lis.newport.ac.uk./dlc/index.htm. However far you are with your studies, the Student Guide should be able to help you. In the ‘News’ section of the site we will try to keep you up to date with any events going on. Please remember to check it regularly!

The distance learning awards ceremony took place at University of Wales, Newport in early September. We were able to

acknowledge the achievement of some of the distance learners who had completed their studies. These were: Jayne Hinchliffe (Doncaster Metropolitan Council), Lisa Hayward (Cardiff City Council), Sharon Hallam (Purbeck District Council), Janet Parrish (Valuation Tribunal Service) and Michael Lacey (Leicester City Council).

The ceremony is a fitting way to celebrate the conclusion of your studies, and all distance learning students are invited to take part in one when they successfully complete Level 3. Though it is not easy for everyone to attend, we are still pleased to be able to organise this celebration every September.

Les Tuckwell is Manager of the

IRRV Distance Learning Centre

DISTANCE LEARNING DISPATCH

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: MICHAEL HOPKINS, IRRV HEAD OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES; JAYNE HINCHLIFFE, DONCASTER METROPOLITAN COUNCIL; LISA HAYWARD, CARDIFF CITY COUNCIL; MAUREEN NEAVE, IRRV COUNCIL MEMBER; SHARON HALLAM, PURBECK DISTRICT COUNCIL; JANET PARRISH, VALUATION TRIBUNAL SERVICE; AND MICHAEL LACEY, LEICESTER CITY COUNCIL

Our priority

Set up Halton BC IRRV approved NVQ assessment centre

No dependence onexternal provider

In-house resourcesutilized

Train internal staffas assessors andinternal verifiers

Recruit NVQ candidates

Short term -Set up Halton BCIRRV approvedNVQ assessment centre for:

Centre registration fee5 candidates1 assessor1 Internal verifier

Long term - Provide training to neighbour Local Authorities& District Councils

Benefit

IRRV centreregistrationfee

Charges by local collegefor assessorand Internal verifiertraining

Charges byIRRV for 2 years ‘NVQ candidate’registration

Time of assessors

Use of skilled internal staff as assessors andInternal verifiers

In-house staff on callfor NVQ assessing

Candidates attachedto in-house assessment centre

Training policyco-coordinated byin-house managers

Potential income stream to cover initial outlay

Determinedbyassessmentcentre

Determinedbyassessmentcentre

£600 - centre approval£875 - 5 NVQcandidates£670 - training 1assessor & 1 IV Total cost:£2145

£175 perNVQ candidate

£335 perassessorInternal Verifier

£600

Value(£) Cost

COUNTING THE COST

LEGAL CORNER

A recent case in the Chancery Division of the High Court has greatly clarified the

distinction between ‘distress’ and ‘execution’, and as a result has enabled goods to be seized and retained with regard to non-domestic rates and council tax.

In Re Modern Jet Support Centre Limited (Jeffrey Mark Brenner (Liquidator) v Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) (ChD) 2005, Mr Justice Warren examined the differences between ‘distress’ and ‘execution’, and the resultant effect of these differences on what action can be taken, or is limited, where a company is in creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

There are two forms of voluntary liquidation: members’ voluntary liquidation and creditors’ voluntary liquidation. A members’ voluntary liquidation can only take place where all creditors are to be paid in full, so there should be no difficulties with this form of liquidation.

If all creditors are not to be paid in full, it must be a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, a meeting of creditors must take place (with a minimum of seven days notice), and the creditors can appoint the liquidator and a liquidation committee. In addition,

different rules then apply under the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA).

The other form of winding-up or

liquidation of a company is compulsory liquidation, where a petition has been heard and a winding-up order made by the court. Again, different rules apply.

Dealing with the compulsory liquidation first, the situation is very clear, in that if distress has not been levied prior to the making of the winding-up order by the court, it is void if levied afterwards, by virtue of section 128 IA. If distress was levied more than three months prior to the order, then the authority is able to retain the proceeds of sale.

If the levy was within the three month period prior to the order, and there are insufficient funds to pay the preferential creditors, then the goods or proceeds of sale must be surrendered for the benefit of the preferential creditors, in accordance with section 176 IA, and the authority then becomes a preferential creditor.

If walking possession was obtained prior to the order and the goods remain on the company’s premises the decision in Re a Debtor (No.10 of 1992) 1995 established that walking possession is a form of security (akin to a mortgage) and thus the goods may be removed and sold and the net proceeds retained by the authority.

In a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, section 176 IA does not apply, as that section only affects compulsory liquidation.

insight Noveber 2005 2928 insight November 2005

Insolvency law is inconsistent, illogical and incomprehensible, says Paul Russell

MIND BOGGLiNG

“ The whole law of distress, execution,

writ of fieri facias (High Court version)

is bizarre, as well as being inconsistent

and incomprehensible. Decisions of the

courts have created, in some instances,

more confusion than there was previously”

xxxxxxxxxxLEGAL CORNER

insight Noveber 2005 2928 insight November 2005

Section 183 IA limits creditor ability to retain the benefit of execution or attachment to situations where the execution or attachment was completed (goods sold; charging order made etc) prior to the meeting of creditors.

The decision in Re Modern Jet Support Centre Limited confirmed the decision in Herbert Berry Associates Ltd v IRC (HL)1977 (which was concerned with the Companies Act 1948, rather than the later IA 1986) was that distress and execution are different and section 183 IA does not prevent the sale of goods, where the levy took place at any time prior to the meeting of creditors and the proceeds being retained by the creditor.

This means that if the authority receives notice of a meeting of creditors, in a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, provided a liability order already exists the authority can remove the goods of the debtor company, sell them and retain the proceeds.

Readers may feel this whole area of law is mind-blowingly inconsistent, illogical and incomprehensible.

The whole law of distress, execution, writ of

fieri facias (High Court version) is bizarre, as well as being inconsistent and incomprehensible. Decisions of the courts have created, in some instances, more confusion than there was previously.

Professor Beatson, in his report to the Lord Chancellor in June 2000 – ‘Independent Review of Bailiff Law’ – recommended a major re-write of the whole area of law. We have also had the Green Paper in 2002, the White Paper in March 2003 and still we wait for a consistent, understandable and logical codification of what bailiffs can do, how and when.

While there are cracks in insolvency law which allow for collection using distress to take place regardless, it is for local authorities to utilise them – HM Revenue and Customs certainly do!

Paul Russell LLB, IRRV is an independent

law consultant and trainer


The views given in this column are personal views

and should not be construed as legal opinion

PARTNERSHIP


T here used to be a regular column in Private Eye and the Local Government Chronicle

highlighting the failings of outsourced revenues and benefits contracts. In Lambeth, Hackney and many other areas, private companies were seen to be making profits while the quality of service delivery plummeted. There were some highly publicised failings and contracts terminated early, such as the HBS contract with Bedfordshire County Council.

Yet at the IRRV Annual Conference last month, contractors were visibly at the forefront of best practice. Many of the local authorities shortlisted for performance awards were working with an external partner. Liverpool City Council, winner of the customer service award, operates Liverpool Direct in conjunction with BT, while the Southwark London Borough Council/Liberata partnership won an award for its social inclusion work.

So, after ten years of outsourcing, what has changed? Why did those early contracts go wrong? Why are contracts now working so much better? Having worked on the contractor side at Southwark and as client manager at Hounslow, I have seen the situation from both sides of the fence.

As councils we got it wrong at first. We were not always honest in describing our services or even admitting the extent to which we had backlogs. We hid the post above ceiling tiles or in lift shafts. Sometimes we were not even clear what the service was we thought we were delivering. We created specifications that described a Rolls Royce service, but only wanted to pay a Ford Mondeo price.

The first services to be outsourced had major problems in areas such as recruitment, trade unions and lack of investment. The contractors got it wrong too. They took our information at face value and found out the truth when it was too late. They were too willing to win our business and put in loss leading bids. They promised our problems would be sorted out

overnight – and we believed them, despite what we knew of our services.

So what changed? Firstly, client managers started to recognise that contracts were too punitive. Instead, a transformation began to happen and local authorities learned to coach, manage and influence the contractors in a positive way. Sometimes we had to pay a bit more to achieve the step change necessary.

Contractors started to listen to us and realise they had to prove themselves to us, be honest about where they were struggling and come up with solutions that were palatable to all parties.

We have all learned from these lessons. Recent re-tendered contracts (South Bucks, Hounslow, Bexley, Mendip) have demonstrated what can be achieved when both the council and the contractors approach the tendering process in a mature way. Consultants from companies such as LG Solutions, PPS Consulting and IRRV Solutions have steered local authorities in a competent and efficient way to making decisions we can live with for up to ten years ahead.

Contractors are confident of their cost models and shy away from ‘dutch auctions’ and bidding contracts below their costs. They are more selective as to which contracts they will bid for. The partnership starts when the council issues its notice to outsource. The content of the specification, the level of information we provide to the companies are all good indicators of whether the contract is a carrot and stick deal or a partnership that will deliver continuous and sustainable improvement and development. There is also a greater acceptance and understanding that profit is not a dirty word. If contractors perform well, this should result in a win-win situation for both parties.

Outsourcing can work if there is a genuine partnership approach, using the expertise of those on the client side with the entrepreneurial and visioning skills of the private sector. n

Robert Della-Sala looks at ten years

of outsourcing revenues and benefits

Robert Della-Sala is Head of Revenues

and Benefits (Client Side) at the

London Borough of Hounslow

CONTRACTING OUT

the quest for efficiency - institute of revenues rating ... · t 020 7064 8400 irrv ... (est man)...

Documents