COUNCIL'S BENEFITS SYSTEM GOES ONLINE

EDINBURGH/LONDON, United Kingdom - November - A new system for Edinburgh residents to complete and track the progress of their Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims online has been launched by the City of Edinburgh Council.

Benefits Online replaces a complex 28-page form that many customers found challenging, with a high proportion being returned incomplete. This led to delays in benefit payments while the Council followed up with customers for further information.

The new system provides unambiguous information to the Council and gives the customer an immediate 'ready reckoner' of the amount of benefit they are likely to receive, based on standard criteria such as income, rent and other benefits.

The online version will ensure that claimants only have to answer the questions which are directly relevant to their circumstances. The instructions and information on screen will make it easier to fill in the form and find out how much benefit they may get.

The system was developed by the Council in partnership with BT, EzGov Europe - specialists in transactional applications for government - and Comino plc and is one of a range of new systems being implemented by BT and the Council as part of their 15-year strategic IT partnership. The system is also available for use by other Local Authorities within the UK.

Lynne Harvie, Operations Support Manager for Edinburgh said: "Benefits Online will radically improve the service we offer and is a clear example of how new technology can offer tangible benefits to citizens, whilst improving business processes and effectiveness for the Council.

"It will help some of the most vulnerable citizens in the city by making it easier to put in the applications in the first place and by helping them to keep track of how that application is doing. It is a much fairer and more efficient way of providing the service."

Ian Willcox, Programme Delivery Director, BT Global Services said, "This project is a genuine win-win for both the citizen and the Council and is an excellent exemplar of how their Smart City vision, allied to a 15 year strategic partnership with BT, is delivering practical IT solutions making a real difference to people's lives."

Benefits Online has already been judged 'an outstanding example of good practice' and was one of three UK submissions to a major European quality conference.

The project was chosen by the Office of Public Services Reform as one of Britain's entries at the 4th European Quality Conference that took place at Tampere in Finland in September.

This is the second success for the Benefits Online system. It has also won a Bronze Award from the Confederation of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA) in the Innovative Use of Technology Category, 2006.