Councils could save up to £90 million tax a year

28 October 2009, 10:56am

28th October 2009 - Over seven million pounds has been saved since 2008 by local authorities working in partnership with Northgate Public Services through targeting ineligible discounts for single people claiming council tax according to figures released today as the company mounts a campaign to persuade other councils to gain significant additional revenue of up to £90 million by taking advantage of its self-funding service.

In unique public private partnerships that link fees to performance, offering councils a self-financing approach to sharing risk with the private sector, Northgate provides local authorities with a fully managed Single Person Discount Review Service. This helps to promote revenue assurance as an integral part of transforming revenue and benefits services based upon citizen needs. Local authorities who sign up only pay up when cancellations have generated a direct cashable saving. Councils who have benefited from the service include Kirklees and Walsall.

Since 2008 twenty three local authorities have taken advantage of this service, with over 500,000 records reviewed, and 30,000 ineligible discounts removed. This has generated £7.8 million of savings to the local authorities at a time when the public sector is under great pressure to make further efficiencies.

A recent Audit Commission report has highlighted the fact that council taxpayers could be losing as much as £2 million a week to people who are ineligibly claiming single person discount on their council tax (Protecting the Public Purse – Local Government Fighting Fraud, September 2009).

Northgate offers councils a service which:

* provides the most accurate reporting of occupancy status available - using the most extensive data sources including over 300 million name and address links;

* covers the electoral register, over 400 million credit records and Mosaic lifestyle data on over 10 million households and individuals;

* reaffirms the vast majority of legitimate claims with no need for contact with the household and updates the councils’ council tax records;

* delivers results rapidly through dedicated project teams with an exercise typically taking twelve weeks to complete.

Mike Carr, Revenues Manager at North Kesteven District Council said today: “I do feel that the partnership has worked very well over the period of the review and again would thank you all for the professional way in which the contract has been handled …The exercise has not only proved very beneficial for North Kesteven from a financial point of view, but has now been highlighted as “good practice” in the recent Audit Commission report on “Protecting the Public Purse” which is also rewarding.”

Joe Bradley, Managing Director of Citizen Services for Northgate Public Services said today: “As the pressure on public services increases as a result of the economic squeeze, it is now more vital than ever that councils take quick steps to ensure that our communities receive their proper entitlements. This requires proactive campaigns to increase take up of benefits where this is low, particularly for those most vulnerable in our communities. It also means making sure that people pay the right amount of council tax and do not claim benefits to which they are not entitled.

“I am delighted that we have helped councils to make these cashable savings and we urge other councils to take advantage of our self-funded service to create more cash to spend on vital frontline services.”

Geo: International