Part of Liverpool City Council’s drive to transform the way it provides services is about maximising its revenue. Interim Assistant Director of the Revenues and Benefits Service Bernie Davies explains the new three-pronged approach to collecting Council Tax.
Council Tax is one of our main sources of income. It is absolutely vital, as it helps to fund the services that our residents rely on.
Our collection rate is not what it should be; but we are determined to improve to the levels of our comparator councils.
This means that we’re currently missing out on a significant amount per year in Council Tax that is owed to us. This could make a huge difference to our residents.
As part of our Transformation Programme, the Revenues and Benefits Service has been working closely with colleagues in the Financial Improvement Programme (FIP) to identify ways in which the council can:
Enforce recovery of Council Tax for those who have the means to pay, but don’t
This means being much more robust with repeat offenders, by working closely with our legal partners. We’re in the process of looking into around 100 major debtors, who are often people with large property portfolios, who owe the city large sums of money. Last year, for example, we recovered over £32,000 from a single landlord who had been dodging payment for a number of years.
Provide support for people who are struggling to pay
This can involve setting up more affordable payment plans, helping residents to access support for the cost of living crisis, and to help make sure they’re getting all the benefits they’re entitled too by getting our Benefits Maximisation Team involved.
Make paying easier for all our residents
Last year, over 15,000 new direct debits were set up directly via our website. And our approach to sending reminders via text message and email, with QR codes linking directly to our payment pages, is making sure we have a much more efficient system that is much more convenient for residents too.
All of these elements are helping us to get the money we’re owed so we can continue the level of service that makes us and our city proud.
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