Posted 07.03.14
Capita Local Government Services has completed a review of 865 homes that were recorded as empty for Plymouth City Council and, following a verification process using specialist customer credit data, have confirmed that 6% of the properties are occupied.
The review has enabled the Council to identify over £300,000 of new revenue through the new homes bonus scheme over the next six years.
The review was completed in around six weeks in order to meet the September 2013 deadline for the new homes bonus scheme. Capita provided a managed service, comprising the review, verification and inspection process.
The review was carried out on a payment by results basis, to ensure that the Council did not have to source upfront investment.
Plymouth City Council's Cabinet Member for finance, Councillor Mark Lowry, said:
"This is a great example of partnership working and the money that has been saved can be ploughed back in to frontline services which will benefit the local community.
"Initiatives like this are simple and cost effective, but help us to protect our budgets and services at a time when they are under pressure. It's only fair that residents who are paying Council Tax aren't subsidising others who have fallen under the radar."
Giles Reid, Sales Director, Capita Local Government Services, said:
"Working closely with Plymouth City Council, we were able to quickly locate a significant number of homes declared empty that were occupied. We used a variety of non-intrusive methods, which included investigators from our revenues and benefits team visiting properties.
"Capita's empty homes review is a low commercial risk service that doesn't put any pressure on a council's resource but can reap significant financial rewards.
