Westmorland and Furness Council claims Taxpayers will be saved millions of pounds after the award of a £1.9 million contract to introduce new software to assist in administering Revenues and Benefits across the Westmorland and Furness Council area.
The council’s Cabinet approved the award of the contract that will mean replacing existing systems from the former Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland Councils with one that operates across the whole area.
A spokesperson for the council said “Awarding a single contract for one, fit-for-purpose, cloud-hosted system has been one of the key aims of the council’s Revenues and Benefits Harmonisation Project”.
“The updated service will mean an end to inefficiencies caused by having to work across separate platforms and systems and enable the streamlining of practices, creating a more consistent customer experience.”
The service currently bills more than 116,000 domestic properties and 15,000 businesses and calculates and pays more than 18,000 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support claims, completing more than one million transactions per year.
Bringing in one system across the Westmorland and Furness footprint is estimated to save taxpayers in the region of £3.6m over the next decade.
The council considered tenders from three bidders and following an evaluation the council cabinet awarded the £1.9m contract to Civica UK Ltd.
The contract is for an initial seven years, with the option for three further years. The total investment over the 10-year period is estimated at £1.9m, which includes one off implementation costs of £312,000 payable across 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 followed by a saving of approximately £390,000 each year.
The council contract award to Civica UK Ltd came just weeks after another council was forced to abandoned its own planned IT system upgrade by Civica UK Ltd following repeated delays.
Norwich City council had been attempting to move from its current workflow management system, W2, to a new version, W3, which would handle benefits, council tax, revenues, business rates, and housing services.
Staff and contractors working on the Norwich City Council project reportedly faced technical problems and data migration issues, pushing back the project originally scheduled for completion in 2023 by years until the council pulled the plug in August when the council reached a compensation agreement with the Civica, though the amount has not been disclosed.
In a joint statement, Civica and Norwich City council said: ‘Following careful consideration, both parties have mutually agreed not to move forward with the W3 product upgrade at this time.’
A report considered by Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet made no mention of issues faced by other councils with similar system upgrades but said greater automated activity with the new system would result in improved efficiency rates and response times, which would support early intervention and prevention – for example, benefits being paid in a timelier manner when most needed.
Improved functionality will prevent rekeying, duplication and multiple handling of information, not only reducing the demand for phone and in-person contact, but freeing up resource, and providing an improved customer experience.
The council plans that the new software will assist the improved delivery of Housing Benefits, Council Tax Support and Council Tax discounts and exemptions.
Speaking about the Westmorland and Furness Council £1.9m contract award to Civica UK Ltd, Cllr Andrew Jarvis, the council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said the award demonstrated the value of a unitary authority being able to simplify and improve services for residents across a large area while at the same time delivering considerable savings.
He said: “This consolidation will bring with it the opportunity for all residents, regardless of area, being able to access the same service, in the same way.
“This will enable the Revenues and Benefits Service to create a single system and processes, and for us to have a fully flexible workforce that can be more effectively targeted, based upon need and demand.
“It is expected there will be further benefits, including productivity and performance gain through streamlined and automated process improvements, reducing repetition.”
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