Over 327,500 residents to benefit from integrated revenues and benefits software

Revenues and benefits software from Capita Software Services has gone live at Cheshire West and Chester Council – one of the first new unitary authorities to go live with a revenues and benefits single solution in England. Cheshire West and Chester Council became a unitary authority on 1st April 2009, bringing together three smaller district councils and half of Cheshire County Council. The revenues and benefits solution from Capita Software Services is assisting the council in simplifying the complex requirements of revenues collection and benefits administration within this new structure.

The contract with Cheshire West and Chester Council sees the convergence of three existing and separate systems into a single solution and is valued at £90,000. Capita Software Services was chosen due to the technical expertise and experience they bring to the project. Following this convergence, the contract with Capita Software Services will continue until April 2011 bringing further savings to the new unitary authority.

The flexible and easily integrated solution will allow the Council to configure the Capita Software Services system to meet precisely its unique requirements as a new unitary authority, providing its citizens with quality and cost-effective services. All three former District Councils were already users of the Capita Software Services revenues and benefits solution, which ensures the integration of back-office revenues and benefits applications with document management and workflow systems.

Jerry Faulkner, senior manager, Revenues and Benefits at Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “Being a new unitary authority, our overall aim from the outset is to provide our residents with access to all revenues and benefits services available from the authority through a single application, and to ensure we remain an approachable and responsive organisation. Providing a top quality service for our many customers and communities is our main priority and we believe Capita Software Services are helping us to achieve this.”

The software helps the Council improve the efficiency of internal processes as it enables full online integration and information sharing between its revenues and benefits departments. As a result, residents benefit from a faster and more proficient council tax and benefits service.

Ian Gates, director at Capita Software Services, commented: “This is an exciting time to be working with Cheshire West and Chester Council as it establishes itself as a new entity. Facilitating such a merger, especially from a technical and process point of view can seem daunting but we are working closely to ensure a smooth transition, maintaining a high level of service that citizens expect and deserve.”

Cheshire West and Chester Council provides services for over 327,500 people and looks after a large area in the North West, managing an annual budget of around £720 million.

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For further information, please contact:
Capita Press Office, 0207 654 2399

Capita Software Services attributes its position as the leading supplier of software solutions to the public sector and housing marketplace to its strong partnership approach. It works closely with customers to provide tailored systems in the disciplines of customer services, mobile technology, payment collection, income management, integrated housing management, revenues and benefits processing and services and policy training. Capita Software Services’ customers benefit from a bespoke service, helping them to streamline their processes and deliver a high performance citizen-centric service

As a division of the Capita Group Plc, the company has experienced strong and consistent growth since its inception in 1994 and works with over 70 per cent of local authorities in the UK. Further information on Capita Software Services can be found at: www.capita-software.co.uk

The Capita Group Plc is the UK’s leading provider of BPO and integrated professional support service solutions.  With 36,000 people at more than 300 sites, including 62 business centres across the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and India, the Group uses its expertise, infrastructure and scale benefits to transform its client’s services, driving down costs and adding value. Capita is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (CPI.L), and is a constituent of the FTSE100 with revenues for 2008 of £2,441 million. Further information on the Capita Group Plc can be found at: http://www.capita.co.uk