Data-processing services

Tender description

The Council is seeking to appoint 1 company to a call off contract period of 3 years (with an option to extend for a further 2 years) to provide off site processing resource for Benefits (Housing and Council Tax Reduction). The contract will provide the Council with additional resources if and when required to address work pressures so as to minimise the impact on service delivery. The Benefits department currently has responsibility for the administration and calculation of over 31 000 Housing and Council Tax Reduction claims and the collection of overpayments and investigation into benefit fraud. The Benefits Service provides the resource for the above functions. The Contractor will provide a schedule of rates from which any outsourced work will be charged at. These rates will be benchmarked against on a regular basis to ensure Value for Money is being achieved. The work to be undertaken under this contract will include: (i) Basic Revenues associated work which are started as a result of a Benefit change or new claim. (ii) Benefits associated work (Housing and/or Council Tax Reduction). Work assigned to the Contractor will comprise of processing work that has already been received, together with ensuring that account details are updated. The Contractor must use personnel with expertise in day to day processing using the Northgate Revenues and Benefits system and Civica document management system.