Agenda item

Report by the E-Government Working Group.

(Enclosure)

The Chairman congratulated and thanked the Members of the E-Government Working Group for the paper prepared by them on moving towards a cashless office which he fully supported.

The Corporate Director of Operational Services summarised the report. As part of the Council’s modernisation agenda, the Working Group had visited a number of sites. The target would be to provide the same range of services in all area offices as are provided in Grantham. To enable this, the Working Group proposed that the Council should implement an Allpay scheme, which would cover cash payments, direct debits and car parking charges. People would be able to use their Allpay cards at a number of different facilities including rural post offices, local shops and garages; this would help support the Council’s rural agenda and provide stability for rural post offices. A list would be circulated to all Members. There would be separate cards for each transaction. The Allpay scheme had been popular with customers elsewhere and the visits had led to the Working Group making recommendations, which they hoped that the DSP would support.

The Working Groups also looked at direct debit payments. Payment days were the first day of the month. It was felt that increasing the choice of days on which people could pay, would encourage increased use of direct debit as a method of payment. The Working Group had undertaken to consult with DSPs and tenants. There would need to be consultation with tenants about the change in payment method, as changing to an Allpay system would alter the terms of tenancy agreements.

An Allpay scheme would significantly reduce the cost of cash transactions.

Members of the Panel discussed the contents of the Working Group’s report. Increasing the number of dates on which direct debits were payable may mean a loss of income on monies collected but it would allow more flexibility for the council tax payer and could mean that there would be increased uptake. There had been difficulty getting people to begin using direct debit payments because historically, they had been positively encouraged to pay by cash at the counter. The loss of interest could potentially be offset by the reduction of transaction costs if more people chose to pay by direct debit.

The options of moving entirely to a cashless office and moving to a partially cashless office were considered, with particular focus on costing and saving elements for each option. Members of the Working Group favoured option one, an entirely cashless office. If the Council were only going to partially convert to cashless, the banking process including security elements would need to be retained. A receipt would be issued for all transactions.

Having a single card for all transactions was suggested. Experiences from other Councils suggested that this could complicate transactions. Should the Allpay system be pursued, outlets across the District would need to be encouraged to facilitate an Allpay system. The scheme was thought to be advantageous because it would allow payment from anywhere.

CONCLUSIONS:

To recommend to the Cabinet that:

1.                  Cash payments should stop before the opening of the Customer Services Centre;

2.                  Allpay be introduced and direct debit payment dates be increased;

3.                  A Council decision be made on this by mid-December 2005.