Content

To agree to
increased spend on an existing contract, and to agree for the
funding of the implementation of the software to be covered by the
UKPSF.
 
I have considered all matters in this decision
notice and approve this spend as set out noting the significant
improvements to the service and reductions in the backlog.
 

Reasons for the decision

Reason for the
Decision:  
 
The Revenues and Benefits teams have had
reductions in staffing over two previous reorganisations with the
promise of automations being implemented to close the gap. 
Automations have not been implemented which has led to backlogs of
work.  Current backlogs stand at 3 months for Revenues general
work and revenues recovery work 8 months and 2.5 months for
Benefits.
 
The software purchased will automate existing
non value add processes such as moves, change in circumstances, and
CTS claims which are currently completed by officers.  By
removing the need to work on these processes, officers can focus on
more complex, person centred work, as well as
recovery.  
 
Our Revenues and Benefits teams have been
significantly impacted by staffing reductions.  This has led
to unsustainable backlogs that directly affect our residents and
the council's financial stability. Currently, we face:
 

Revenues General Work: A
3-month backlog
Revenues Recovery Work: An
8-month backlog
Benefits Processing: A
2.5-month backlog

 
To address these challenges, we've identified
an automation solution with MRI (our existing software provider)
that will save over 28 officer hours per week in the Revenues team
and over 100 hours per week in the Benefits team. The total cost
for the first year, including implementation, is less than the
current staffing costs required to complete this work manually.
 

Current Annual Spend (Existing
Package): £39,512.00
New Annual Spend (Enhanced
Package): £50,000.00
Net Annual Increase:
£10,488.00

 
The net annual increase of £10,488.00
will be fully offset from March 2026 onwards by discontinuing our
contribution to the current development fund associated with our
existing package.  (The development fund is an amount of
money the council has been paying to the software provider to help
fund the general development and improvement of the
software).
 
A one-off implementation cost of
£31,188.00 + VAT (comprising £20,700 for development
time and £10,488.00 for other costs) is proposed to be fully
funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).  A key
feature of this fund is that it can be used for a variety of
projects, including those that support economic growth and improve
local services, which aligns with the purpose of this software
implementation.  This improves the service approach for
residents through digital transformation which is focused on
automating more services to free up officer time to target those
that need support with more complex issues.

Alternative options considered

Alternative
Options Considered: 
 
Do nothing:

Ever growing backlog 

Repeat contact - increasing strain on customer
services

Strain on team causing additional stress with
backlog which leads to increased sickness

Delays in responses causing complaints from
residents

Delay on billing and recovering money

Not having resource to focus on other
priorities

c.28 hours a week lost in Revenues 

Over 100 hours a week lost in Benefits if we do
nothing

 
Officers to
complete: The cost of the
additional workforce needed exceeds the investment required for the
automations.  While an initial investment in automation is
required, it leads to significant return on investment by improving
productivity, reducing errors, and building a more resilient and
scalable operational model that can handle future
growth. 
 
This implementation
of this work is externally funded through the shared propensity
fund.  The plans for the SPF was shared with members in April
2025
 
The increased yearly
spend will be covered by no longer contributing to the development
fund, and these funds (part of the established budget) to be
repurposed to pay for the increase.