Agenda item

·         Governance and Audit Committee: minute number 48(1) from 24 March 2016

                                                                                                      (Enclosure)

The Chairman referred to the excerpt from the Governance and Audit Committee minutes of its meeting of Thursday 24 March 2016.  He noted that the Governance and Audit Committee had asked the Scrutiny Committee to consider the decision to offer reductions to customers paying via direct debit for green bin renewals together with the way systems had operated during the renewal period.

The Strategic Lead – Programme Delivery was in attendance to provide the Committee with an outline of the process and what the actual current situation was. 

He reported that over 28,000 customers had signed up to the green waste service which had generated an income of over £950k.  In previous years the 16,000 online customers had to set up an account in order to carry out a transaction.  There would no longer be a requirement to have an account to carry out an online transaction but the option would still be available for those who wanted to track their account.  Currently 59% of customers paid by direct debit.  Customers would be notified of the annual charge for the coming year and the amount would then automatically be taken by direct debit if they wanted to continue paying this way. 

There had been an increase in online demand of around 65%.  The Committee was shown a presentation which demonstrated how demand had exceeded previous levels.  The system now tracked every transaction including abandoned transactions.  Abandoned transactions accounted for around 2% of recorded transactions.  These could be as a result of customers changing their mind, incorrect orders, wrong payment type or two people in one household attempting to order the same thing.  Other challenges faced by customers were difficulties in finding an address or their software not being compatible with the Council’s software.  An option directing the customer to a recommended browser was available and transactions could still be taken over the phone.

The Strategic Lead – Programme Delivery noted that consideration had also been given to the timing of the issuing of notifications so they did not clash with other large mail shots such as Council Tax.  Large mail shots and notifications created significant demand on Customer Service systems which meant that some customers may not get the support they required.

“How to Guides” would also be available to help customers if they were stuck in a particular process. 

In response to a Member’s query about direct debit cost savings per property, it was noted that estimated face to face transactions cost between £6 to £15 per transaction, phone transactions were around £3 to £4 per transaction plus a card charge.  The aim was to incentivise online transactions rather than recover costs.  Encouraging customers to move to direct debit payments and online transactions would enable more support for those customers who required it.

Further discussion ensued around what percentage of households had taken up green waste collections; what was done for those people not paying by direct debit and whether it was offered to them when the renewal reminders were issued; whether the cost saving should be passed on to customers and whether the generated £950k covered the running costs of the scheme.

There were 65,000 households within the district and around just under half had taken up the green waste service.  Around 25,000 transactions had been undertaken which was significantly higher than previous years.  In respect of those customers currently not using the direct debit system but where the Council had their e-mail addresses, a notification email containing links to access the Direct Debit process was sent.  For those with no e-mail address, a notification letter was issued which also included details of the direct debit process.  These letters were processed by an external printer which was an additional cost saving.

The Committee was reassured that those customers currently paying by the alternative means available were offered the option to pay by direct debit.

The Scrutiny Committee welcomed the work being undertaken to encourage customers to pay by direct debit and noted that customers currently not paying by direct debit were also being provided with the option to pay by those means.  The Scrutiny Committee acknowledged the systems that were in place to support customers and that there was an awareness that support was required for customers who were not computer literate and required additional support.