Decision

The Director of
Finance has approved the award of a contract from 15/12/2025
– 31/03/2026 with the option to extend for a further 3 months
via the Crown Commercial Services Framework RM1775.14 - G Cloud 14
to Civica UK Ltd through their ‘On Demand’ services to
assist with the clearance of Revenues and Benefits processing work,
at a total value of £200,000.00.
 

Reasons for the decision

The services
operational position is unstable. 
Resources are stretched to capacity, demand is persistently high,
work outstanding continues to accrue and service standards are
poor.
 
Processing support was
in place until April 2025. Call handling support is presently in
place until 31/12/2025. Should this not continue service delivery
will further deteriorate. The new Council Tax Reduction Scheme
introduced in April 2025 failed to offer the efficiencies in
process expected, impacting capacity negatively. The scheme is
expected to change again with effect from April 2026 – high
volumes of customer contact are expected in the
interim.  The service is not resourced
to absorb this. This ongoing position is further compounded by the
still active move to a fit for purpose operating model.
 

Alternative options considered

The alternative is not
to procure further support.  This has
been considered and the anticipated detrimental impact
evaluated.