Agenda item

Peter Schriewersmann, arvato Site Director outlined details of the progress made in Year 2 of the Thames Valley Transactional Service Centre Partnership for the period April 2013 to March 2014. Members were informed that the partnership between arvato and Slough Borough Council (SBC) continued to develop  and work towards achieving the ambitions of SBC.  Key areas of priority were highlighted as:

• Creating new income streams that would be shared with SBC by attracting new public sector work
• Adding value to the partnership by focusing on the young and unemployed by recruiting apprentices, offering NVQ qualifications and employment.
• Introducing a recruitment strategy to specifically target the unemployed in the borough with a focus on young people and on part-time jobs.
• Supporting sustainable SME businesses to deliver more jobs for Slough residents by setting up an advisory service providing advice on topics relating to arvato’s  core business.

Specific actions taken to date included:

• The recent relocation of arvato UK and Ireland to Slough which would bring additional business to the borough.
• The creation of a specific schools package to attract businesses from educational facilities such as schools and universities.
• The recruitment to the Neighbourhood Benefits Officers, which would assist the Housing Service both in terms of housing benefit applications and ensuring the maximisation of benefit take up in the borough by providing a more local accessible and tailored service.
• Increasing income to the Council via Council Tax and Business Rates.

Details of arvato’s performance to date were outlined as:

Business Rates – collection figures for the end of February 2014 were 95.2%. A considerable amount of work had been undertaken by arvato to ensure accuracy of  the business rates database including serving completion notices and reviewing all mandatory and discretionary reliefs. It was noted that the successful appointment of an Inspector within the service would further enhance the provision of the service.

Council Tax Collection – Members were reminded that council tax collection had been impacted by significant legislative change. CIPFA’s estimate of the impact of the legislative change was evaluated at a reduction in council tax collection of approximately 1.19%. It was noted that the council tax collection rate in 2012/13 was 95.3% and that the achievement figure for 2013/14 was 94.8% and that this was 0.69% better than could have been expected.

Housing Benefits – Committee Members were informed that housing benefit claims were being processed within the target set of twenty days.

Future service improvements were outlined and included the restructure of  the Revenue and Benefits service and further improvements to Customer Service. 

A number of points were raised in the ensuing discussion, which included:

• Apprenticeship schemes. In September 2012 arvato launched an apprenticeship scheme in partnership with SBC. To date eleven apprentices were enrolled on the scheme and although there was no guarantee of a job at the end of the apprenticeship, the trainees could apply for a position should an employment opportunity arise within arvato. It was noted that the minimum target of 117 apprenticeship schemes being offered for the duration of the arvato contract would be exceeded.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Responding to who set the Key performance Indicators to monitor service delivery from arvato, Members were informed that SBC in conjunction with arvato set targets, to ensure that they were realistic and achievable. It was noted that external scrutiny was also carried out by the Council’s auditors.
• ICT. Concern was raised thatimprovements in ICT had not been made. Members were reminded that many of the delivery elements within the ICT strategy were now the responsibility of arvato. It was noted that a comprehensive collection of KPI’s had been identified for Phase 2.

The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, thanked MrSchriewersmann for a comprehensive presentation.

Resolved – That details of the presentation be noted.

(Councillor Minhas left the meeting)