Liberata highly commended at the IRRV Performance Awards 2025
We’re pleased to share that Liberata received Highly Commended in two categories at this year’s IRRV Performance Awards. Our teams were recognised for their service excellence and innovation, with nominations for the Benefits Team of the Year for our partnership with Swindon Borough Council, and Excellence in Innovation for Debt Assist.
Benefits Team of the Year – Swindon
This category recognises teams that run a high-quality benefits service for residents. Entries are judged on accuracy, speed of processing, customer experience, value for money, and the service’s adaptability and improvement. Evidence of collaboration, strong controls, and clear outcomes for the local community is essential.
Why our partnership was recognised
Working as one team with Swindon Borough Council, we rebuilt processes around speed, accuracy, and a better resident experience. In 2024, the team achieved:
- 75% of benefits processing transactions were automated, which helped us achieve 12.5 days for new claims against a national average of 20
- 3 days for changes against a national average of 7
- 5% of new claims were paid within 14 days, giving residents timely support when it matters most
- We also recovered £1.7 million in overpayments, around 98% of those created, reflecting tight controls and clear ownership
The submission highlighted not only the numbers but also the culture behind them, with colleagues sharing insight, fixing issues quickly, and continually improving how the service works.
Excellence in Innovation – Debt Assist
This award highlights approaches that improve service performance and customer outcomes through genuine innovation. The judges considered the problem being solved, the clarity of the method, measurable results, and how the learning can be sustained and shared.
Why Debt Assist was recognised
Debt Assist is an ethical, data led approach to recovering arrears that treats people fairly and reduces repeat debt. In a recent pilot, we:
- Managed 1,828 cases covering £8.2 million of arrears
- It delivered measurable gains, including £576,000 of arrears reduction from data cleansing
- 310 benefits checker journeys that identified about £121,000 in monthly benefits
- For sensitive Housing Benefit overpayments, the approach achieved a 14% recovery rate
Our submission also showed how the method tackles root causes, with clearer matching rules, better supplier and resident engagement, and simple changes that make it easier to do the right thing.
Business as usual
We are extremely proud of our colleagues and partners who made these results possible, from the Swindon Borough Council benefits team to the specialists behind Debt Assist.
Being highly commended provides independent confirmation for the work our teams do every day. We will always continue to support our customers, their residents, strengthen services, and raise standards across local government.
