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On 12 December 2023, Cabinet:-
(i) Approved the full business case in Appendix A to the report to establish an ‘in-house’ Enforcement Agent (EA) operation, initially for council tax and business rates debts for the Compliance Stage (first stage), of the formal debt recovery process;
(ii) Noted that the Invest to Deliver group and associated delegated approval process agreed a sum of £247,171 to be allocated from the Delivery Plan Reserve to set up the operation;
(iii) Approved the phased transfer of other enforcement/debt collection activity (following an internal transformation project that commenced in 2022 on reviewing all these services) - subject to the appropriate due diligence following the initial first phase of in-house operation and a further Cabinet report;
(iv) Approved the consolidation of contract management of all enforcement agent activity across the Council (where possible and practical) and ensure value for money is maximised into the new enforcement operation;
(v) Approved the requirement to use the Crown Commercial Services (RM6226) Debt Resolution Services framework for a period of up to 12 months commencing from the date this Cabinet report is approved, as an interim measure for Council Tax, Business Rates and Business Improvement District debt recovery, as set out in (Appendix B -Exempt Information);
(vi) Noted that a report updating Cabinet on the realisation of benefits associated with the setup of this new service after the first full year of operation;
(vii) Delegated authority to the Director of Digital and Customer Services (or their delegate), in consultation with Assistant Director Corporate Procurement (or their delegate), the City Solicitor (or their delegate), and the interim Finance Director (or their delegate) to approve any new, compliant procurement processes and arrangements required (see Appendix B – Exempt Information);
(viii) Delegated authority to the Director of Digital and Customer Services (or their delegate), in conjunction with the Assistant Director Corporate Procurement or their delegate, the Chief Finance Officer or their delegate, and the City Solicitor or their delegate to approve the selection of successful bidder(s) where compliant procurements are undertaken (see Appendix B – Exempt Information) including the execution of the necessary contractual documentation to give effect to these outcomes.
THE DEADLINE FOR CALL IN IS 1600 HOURS
ON MONDAY 18 DECEMBER 2023.
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