URL: https://democracy.lichfielddc.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=782

Decision Maker: Cabinet Member Decision

Outcome:

Is Key Decision?: Yes

Is Callable In?: Yes

Purpose: The council processes council tax payments, benefits payments, and sundry debt administration through a revenues and benefits system, which is integral to our financial and administrative operations.   The system is hosted on premise (vs in the cloud) and the current contract extension with the provider, NEC, expires on 31 March 2026.   The revenues and benefits system is deeply embedded within the council’s operations, supporting multiple teams and nearly 60,000 residents and businesses, and there are significant costs associated with transitioning to an alternative system, including dual running of the systems for one year. Given that the system we are using is deeply embedded and the cost to change is high, it’s important to consider disaster recovery and contingencies in our planning.   Any migration to a new system also risks losing historic council tax data, which is essential for accurate revaluations and related processes.   The council has recently invested significantly in integrating a new approach to delivering local council tax support into the NEC system, providing rapid decision-making for our most vulnerable customers and achieving substantial efficiency improvements.   The council has conducted a soft market testing exercise which has confirmed that the NEC system represents good value compared to other comparable systems. As part of this, a ‘Prior Information Notice’ was issued to compliantly undertake market engagement. The results the market is limited, with few solutions available.   This paper recommends reprocuring the NEC system for a new term of five years, with the option to extend the contract for two further two-year periods, and within the procurement to move to a cloud-based solution in line with the council’s IT strategy.   The procurement will be made through a procurement compliant direct award on the VAS Framework. With the advent of local government reorganisation, the VAS Framework also includes a 90-day termination clause that will enable the council or any future council to move away from the contract with minimal financial impact should a change of system be required by the future unitary council.

Content: The council processes council tax payments, benefits payments, and sundry debt administration through a revenues and benefits system, which is integral to our financial and administrative operations.   The system is hosted on premise (vs in the cloud) and the current contract extension with the provider, NEC, expires on 31 March 2026.   The revenues and benefits system is deeply embedded within the council’s operations, supporting multiple teams and nearly 60,000 residents and businesses, and there are significant costs associated with transitioning to an alternative system, including dual running of the systems for one year. Given that the system we are using is deeply embedded and the cost to change is high, it’s important to consider disaster recovery and contingencies in our planning.   Any migration to a new system also risks losing historic council tax data, which is essential for accurate revaluations and related processes.   The council has recently invested significantly in integrating a new approach to delivering local council tax support into the NEC system, providing rapid decision-making for our most vulnerable customers and achieving substantial efficiency improvements.   The council has conducted a soft market testing exercise which has confirmed that the NEC system represents good value compared to other comparable systems. As part of this, a ‘Prior Information Notice’ was issued to compliantly undertake market engagement. The results the market is limited, with few solutions available.   This paper recommends reprocuring the NEC system for a new term of five years, with the option to extend the contract for two further two-year periods, and within the procurement to move to a cloud-based solution in line with the council’s IT strategy.   The procurement will be made through a procurement compliant direct award on the VAS Framework. With the advent of local government reorganisation, the VAS Framework also includes a 90-day termination clause that will enable the council or any future council to move away from the contract with minimal financial impact should a change of system be required by the future unitary council. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Commissioning approved the procurement of the NEC revenues and benefits system for five years, with the option to extend for a further two years, on the basis it has been assessed as the most cost-effective and operationally sound option, subject to this being within Approved Budgets.   The Cabinet Member for Finance and Commissioning delegated the customer front-end system selection (either enhancing NEC or transitioning to a comparable front-end solution) to the responsible director, cabinet member, and s151 officer, subject to usability testing, procurement processes and costs being within Approved Budgets.

Date of Decision: September 26, 2025