Case Study
The London Borough of Hounslow, Council Tax Information service

In common with all U.K. Local Authorities, The London Borough of Hounslow have a duty to provide their residents with fast, easy access to information about Council Tax. Because much of the administrative work associated with Council Tax is focussed around the months immediately prior to, during and after the sending out of Council Tax bills, staff in the revenues and Benefits department were being swamped with enquiries at the very time that their administrative work was also peaking. This resulted in residents being unable to get through on the telephone and council staff being disrupted in their ability to fulfil time sensitive tasks.

A series of short meetings were held with specialised staff at Inform who were skilled and experienced in providing solutions for Local Authorities and a fully automated, multi-lingual telephone information service was produced. This has been well received by residents, members and officers and has been successful in answering all frequently asked questions (FAQs) and a large number of more complex enquiries.

Several additions/ enhancements have since been made as Inform collect and analyse data produced from the service on an ongoing basis.

The service has meant that residents have been provided with fast, easy access to information 24-hours a day and departmental productivity and efficiency during these busy months have substantially increased.