Person responsible for managing the assessment

Head of Revenues & Benefits for Capita Business Services, working on behalf of Havant Borough Council.

Name and brief description of the service / policy to be assessed

The delivery and administration of the Revenues Service to the residents and businesses in the Borough of Havant within the legislation and guidelines provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Objectives of the service/policy to be assessed

To provide a service that is accessible for all, that raises charges for Council Tax and Non Domestic Rates to the right person or organisation promptly and accurately.

To provide a comprehensive customer service, using up-to-date technology that ensures easy access to the Revenues Service and provides convenient and accessible methods of payment.

To collect Revenues in a timely, but fair and reasonable manner, having regard to vulnerable groups and to maximise take-up of any possible discounts and reliefs.

Baseline/monitoring data

The number of Council Taxpayers in the Borough is 51,722. Number of Non Domestic Ratepayers 3101.

Information from the 2001 census :

Population: 115,700

Of the residents in the Borough, 48.02% are male, 51.98% female.

1700 residents (1.5%) are non-white

3570 residents (3.1%) are not British

29.55% are aged under 25. 18.92% are aged 65 or over.

4,530 residents are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance and 2,470 are in receipt of Attendance Allowance.

We do not currently collate data of Council Taxpayers and Non Domestic Ratepayers who are in minority groups.

Service/policy outcome evaluation

The following list details how the Council is meeting the equality standards:

1. Regular liaison meetings with Citizens Advice Bureau
2. Regular dialogue with representatives from major Housing Associations in the Borough
3. Links and liaison with other organizations such as Valuation Office and other Local Authorities
4. Revenues information is published on the web
5. Language-line facility available for translation service
6. Discounts and Reliefs take-up literature included on Council Tax and Non Domestic Rate bills and recovery notices
7. Documentation available in large print for the partially sighted.
8. Regular articles in Serving You, the Council’s newsletter, advising residents in the Borough of updates in Revenues services
9. Interview room designed to ensure wheelchair access.
10. Code of practice agreed with Bailiffs.
11. Methods of payment continually reviewed and direct debit actively pursued.

The Council also has a Customer Services Policy, a Race Equality Scheme and the Council’s website can be automatically translated into a number of different languages for members of minority groups.

List of main stakeholders/beneficiaries

1. Council Taxpayers
2. Non Domestic Ratepayers
3. Citizens Advice Bureaux
4. Other Council Departments, such as Housing, Benefits, Electoral Registration
5. Welfare Organisations
6. Government Departments

How representative is the ‘stakeholder’ list above?

As mentioned above, baseline data for the groups covered by the Equality Legislation is not currently recorded. The Council is currently in the process of setting up a directory of hard to reach groups and the Revenues team will be using this directory to ensure minority groups are not disadvantaged by discrimination.

Who benefits from the service/policy?

There is a duty to all Council Taxpayers and Non Domestic Ratepayers to collect debts in a timely, fair and reasonable manner. It is the Council’s responsibility to make sure that methods of payment, discounts, benefits and reliefs are promoted to maximum effect.

In what area are there concerns that the policy could have a differential impact

Race

Disability

Gender

Age

Religious beliefs

Sexual Orientation

Please explain for each of the target equality groups, but in particular race, disability and gender:

Areas of concern that the service/policy could have a differential impact  

Revenues legislation and guidance is set by Central Government and this provides the framework within which the Council operates. The recovery measures available are therefore the same for all taxpayers/ratepayers and there is no concern that the service/policy could have a differential impact. With regard to ensuring no groups are disadvantaged by office practice and procedure, there is currently no evidence to suggest that this may exist but more data needs to be collected to be able to analyse further.

Differential impact

It is not thought that there is any negative impact in the areas of disability, gender, age, religious beliefs and sexual orientation. With regard to race, more information needs to be collected, and consultation undertaken. At this moment it is not possible to be totally certain whether ethnic minorities are in any way disadvantaged by the service/policy of the Revenues Department. Further consultation and analysis needs to be undertaken to be certain there is no negative impact.

Reasons for any differential impact

At this moment there is not enough evidence to determine any differential impact.

Are there any barriers to opportunities or access for some groups?

Minority groups not currently monitored.

Further consultation with minority groups required.

Further analysis needs to take place to identify whether minority groups are in any way disadvantaged by Revenues Services practices.

Complaints data

No complaints have been received in this service area in respect of equality issues.

Are there disadvantages caused by discrimination?

None identified.

Are there opportunities to better promote service/policy inclusion?

This is being discussed generally within the Council. There is an intention to create a directory of hard to reach groups which will enable the Service to link up with them and gain a greater understanding of any issues.

Have you undertaken any consultation?

No specific consultation with Council Taxpayers and Non Domestic Ratepayers regarding these specific issues.

Feedback received from Benefits Service who hold meetings with claimants and landlords.

Feedback received from CAB meetings.

Consultation outcomes

No feedback of differential impact received.

Assessment conclusion

The general conclusion is that there is no evidence of any existing working practices or procedures within the Revenues Service having any negative impact on different groups within the community. However the assessment identified that further action would be useful in certain areas and the following action plan has been compiled:

Monitoring timetable

Performance against these targets will be monitored by Capita Head of Revenues and Benefits. All new policies will be impact assessed. A review will be undertaken by the Capita Head of Revenues and Benefits in 6 months time.