Business rates maximisation

Tender description

Summary of the work Identify commercial properties in the London Borough of Bexley that are new, missing or have significant changes to them over 12 months ago and have not been identified by the local authority and for which LB Bexley has not submitted a Billing Authority Report. Latest start date Wednesday 1 April 2020 Why the Work is Being Done The business rates retention scheme, that was introduced in 2013-14, means that Councils bear a proportion of the real-terms change in business rates revenues in their areas. Therefore, Councils need to ensure that the rating list which is updated by the Valuation Office Agency is accurate to ensure the correct Business Rates are being levied. Problem to Be Solved To identify changes, new builds or missing commercial properties that may have a significant effect on the rating list. Who Are the Users Business Rates are levied by the local authority based upon the rateable value in the rating list which is set by the Valuation Office Agency and the multiplier rate set by central government annually. The revenue is collected by the local authority and a proportion is retained for funding local services. Existing Team The supplier will provide reports to the Business Rates team who are Capita, a contractor to the Council, to be agreed. Invoices will be sent to the Council for payment. Current Phase Live Skills & Experience • To identify any non domestic properties that are not assessed for Business Rates • To identify any non-domestic properties that are under-assessed due to, for example, alterations made to the property that are not reflected in its current assessment. • Report changes to the Valuation Office Agency and monitor them to ensure they are reflected in the Rating List • To subsequently record and monitor the additional Business Rates income achieved because of the rateable value change Work Location Business Rates Tourama House 17 Homesdale Road Bromley, Kent BR2 9LY Working Arrangments Work remotely and send reports through to Business Rates that can be discussed by email or phone. Will need to agree which properties we will not be looking for updates on e.g. where business rates is covered by Small Business Rates Relief. Security Clearance No system access required so not relevant. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Technical solution • Approach and methodology • How the approach or solution meets user needs • How the approach or solution meets your organisation’s policy or goal • Estimated timeframes for the work • How they’ve identified risks and dependencies and offered approaches to manage them • Team structure • Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Work as a team with our organisation and other suppliers • Be transparent and collaborative when making decisions • Have a no-blame culture and encourage people to learn from their mistakes • Take responsibility for their work • Share knowledge and experience with other team members • Challenge the status quo • Be comfortable standing up for their discipline • Can work with clients with low technical expertise Payment Approach Fixed price Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 55% Cultural fit 5% Price 40% Questions from Suppliers 1. What is the budget for the work? We have no specific budget to cover this service as we expect suppliers to submit proposals that are based on a percentage fee of the rateable value of properties identified, therefore we would not have a cap on what is ultimately paid.