Councils could potentially be saving £millions on the administrative costs of their council tax collection, according to a report by Voca the electronic payment specialists.
The report, commissioned by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), revealed there is huge scope for local authorities to make major savings by increasing the take up of direct debit in payment of council tax. It showed the annual anticipated savings for the North West region alone is as much as £1.54m.
The Institute of Revenues Ratings and Valuation (IRRV) following their joint work with Voca, Audit Commission and the Centres of Excellence has now launched a self-assessment framework for councils to measure their current collection operations against best practice in order to improve electronic payment processes and achieve efficiencies.
The framework was piloted by Doncaster Council in January 2007 and funded at a cost of £15,000 by the York and Humber Regional Centre of Excellence. Doncaster is a high performing council with a low direct debit rate. But after the initial working with Voca, the authority experienced a 20% increase in take up of direct debit payments, an anticipated savings of £125k per year
The free self assessment direct debit framework was published in the May edition of Insight, the IRRV magazine.
It identifies three levels of billing – minimum, progressing and excellent – across five strands of activities of direct debit administration. Using the framework, authorities can assess their progress and set manageable targets for higher achievement.
Copies of the framework will be available at the nine IRRV forum events due to take place in June, it will also be available online on YHCoE’s website at www.yhcoe.rcoe.gov.uk.
Paul Glover, Programme Manager from the York and Humber Regional Centre of Excellence, says:
“We know that direct debit is one of the most efficient ways for local authorities to collect council tax, but there are major variations in take up by individual councils.
“The aim of the framework is to try to do more to help councils increase the take up through assessing their current performance and setting targets to improve. The Doncaster pilot showed it can be achieved, making major cash savings that can be ploughed back into frontline services. All nine regional centres are promoting the framework in their areas.”
28th June 2007
