The Anglia Revenues & Benefits Joint Committee met on Tuesday to discuss performance, finances, and upcoming changes to welfare. The committee noted that overall performance for business rates and council tax collections was within target, and discussed the impact of customers moving to 12-month payment plans. Members also reviewed the forecast financial performance, which showed a slight overspend due to pay awards, and received an update on welfare reform, including the new Crisis Resilience Fund¹.

Performance Report

Katey Mills, the Principal Fraud, Enforcement & Recovery Manager (ARP), presented the June 2025 performance report, which detailed the performance for each partner authority to the end of quarter 1. The combined performance of all partner councils for business rates and council tax collections was within target for the Anglia Revenues Partnership (ARP) as a whole.

Other key points from the report included:

• A 63% increase in the number of electronic forms received compared to quarter one of 2024/25.
• The fraud and compliance targets had been increased to £4.5 million, and the team was on track to achieve this target by the end of the year.
• The Enforcement Team collected over £1.4 million in debt in quarter one, a 3.61% increase compared to the same quarter last year, and over £420,000 in fees, a 4% increase compared to the same period last year and 37% compared to the same quarter in 2023/24.
• The Fraud Team had identified fraud and error to the value of £1.7 million by the end of the first quarter.
• The Further Recovery Team had collected over £527,000 in debt in the most difficult council tax and business rates cases, in line with their 2024/25 performance.

Theresa Mann, the Principal Billing, Benefits & Business Rates Manager (ARP), provided an update on council tax, benefits, and business rates performance:

• Council Tax: Collection was within the tolerance of the target for all local authorities, with Breckland Council and East Suffolk District Council slightly under target. The impact of customers moving from 10 to 12 instalments per year was being explored as a potential reason for lower collection rates.
• Benefits: Processing times for both council tax support and housing benefit were within target due to work monitoring and resource allocation. 97% of Universal Credit notifications from the DWP were successfully automated.
• Business Rates: Collection was within the tolerance target for all local authorities, with West Suffolk DC slightly under target. A project had been launched to issue soft email reminders ahead of paper reminders, which should increase engagement and reduce postage costs. Work had started on planning for the upcoming business rates changes taking effect from April 2026, including transformation of the multiplier system[^2], a revaluation, and new relief schemes. [^2]: A multiplier is a figure used to calculate business rates bills.

Councillor Jan French mentioned a successful press release issued by Fenland highlighting the amount of fraud dealt with by the authorities. Councillor Phil Cowen, Chair of the Committee, supported publicising the Partnership's achievements in dealing with fraud.

Councillor Cowen raised concerns about the impact of delays in the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) banding new properties on council tax collection and the burden on families. The Principal Billing, Benefits & Business Rates Manager (ARP) explained that customers are contacted and offered the option to make voluntary payments. Councillor Cowen asked for this arrangement to be publicised.

Lorraine King, the Head of ARP, noted a 10% increase in people moving to 12-monthly instalments, impacting collection rates. She also mentioned encouraging people to pay council tax on unbanded properties and monitoring these cases. Councillor Cowen suggested reviewing the targets to reflect the impact of 12-monthly instalments.

The committee otherwise noted the report.

ARP Forecast Financial Performance 2025-26

Alison Chubbock, the Assistant Director of Finance & S151 Officer (BDC), presented the report on the forecast full-year financial performance against budget for the ARP. The forecast showed just over a 1% above-budget spend, equating to £143,000. The main reasons for the overspend were the higher-than-budgeted pay award and postage costs. However, vacancy savings were mitigating the overspend, and the aim was to reduce postage costs through e-billing. The report and appendix were noted.

Welfare Reform Update

Theresa Mann, the Principal Billing, Benefits & Business Rates Manager (ARP), presented the welfare reform update. Migration to Universal Credit continued, with the DWP increasing the number of migration notices issued each month and providing additional support to vulnerable customers.

Key points from the report included:

• The government announced a new Crisis Resilience Fund, which would incorporate the current Household Support Fund and discretionary housing payments, to provide longer-term funding and enable local authorities to take a more preventative approach.
• Changes to disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payments (PIP), would only apply to new claims from November 2026, and all existing PIP recipients would remain on the current system.
• From winter 2025/26, pensioners with a taxable income under £35,000 would receive the winter fuel payment, rather than just pensioners in receipt of pension credit.

Councillor Diane Hind asked when the Crisis Resilience Fund would be rolled out. Members were informed that it would be from April 2026, and the amount of funding should be known during the autumn/winter of this year. The report was otherwise noted.

Forthcoming Issues

Councillor Cowen mentioned the Local Government Review (LGR) and asked the Head of ARP about the plans being made. Members were informed that ARP was participating in many working groups across each of the partnership counties and starting to look at how its structure and governance would fit into the potential outcomes of the LGR. In-depth conversations were being had with the software supplier to ensure they were prepared for all the changes ahead, including boundary changes and system migrations.

Councillor Vince Langdon-Morris asked to discuss the LGR further with the Head of ARP after the meeting, as East Suffolk District Council had already produced a draft case for change under a three-unitary position.

Councillor French asked for each authority to be notified of any successful prosecutions, as they needed to be publicised. The Principal Fraud, Enforcement and Recovery Manager (ARP) explained that the Communications Team at whichever authority were informed of any successful prosecution.