Swindon Borough Council, a unitary authority in the South West of England, has awarded a multi-year contract to Liberata, the business process services provider, to enhance and modernise a wide range of its services. The new partnership will support Swindon’s digital transformation programme as well as deliver efficiency savings and significant improvements to Revenues & Benefits performance.
Liberata’s expertise and solutions are being deployed at a time when Swindon is experiencing high levels of deprivation in certain areas of its borough. Through its highly flexible and trusted system, the business process services provider will focus on bringing the service to an appropriate level, generating cost efficiencies and raising income for the Council as a result.
Commencing 1st April 2023, the contract is initially for a period of 10 years with a potential two-year extension, with a total value that could reach over £30 million. The range of services being delivered include full end-to-end Council Tax and Business Rates services including initial billing, recovery and enforcement as well as complete support with housing benefits, service improvement initiatives, customer services for these services, systems provision and hosting and service support.
A spokesperson for Swindon Borough Council said: “Following a formal process and tender notice, Liberata stood out with its ability to transform our services and improve customer access and digital services.”
“Liberata has demonstrated it can achieve high collection rates across business rates and council tax services and benefits by improving processing times. We look forward to working with Liberata to help transform these services for our residents and ensuring we are providing the appropriate levels of support to the most vulnerable in our area.”
Liberata will also enable the Council to improve the customer experience by improving benefits performance and supporting the DWP-led Housing Benefits Awards Accuracy Initiative and Verification of Earnings & Pensions. This will form a part of Swindon’s vulnerable customer support programme that aims to ensure the most vulnerable in society are better protected and receive the right support from their local authority.
In addition, Swindon Borough Council will benefit from full systems administration, reporting and subsidy management for Revenues and Benefits services as well as associated customer management platforms, including support with workflows and the introduction of automation to meet digital transformation goals.
Charlie Bruin, CEO of Liberata, said: “Liberata has consistently modernised its revenues and benefits services through technology investment and process improvements across all its clients, and I am delighted Swindon has chosen us to support and deliver for its residents. This project will enable an immediate step change in cost efficiencies and collection performance for Swindon Council, while giving residents access to the latest digital tools and expert support.”
