Westmorland and Furness Council has awarded Civica a contract to deliver a new cloud-based Revenues and Benefits system. Replacing multiple legacy systems from the former Barrow, Eden and South Lakeland councils, the council contends that platform will streamline operations, improve citizen experience and save taxpayers an estimated £3.6 million over the next decade.
The contract is part of the council’s Revenues and Benefits Harmonisation Project, one of its digital transformation initiatives since becoming a unitary authority. By consolidating three systems into one cloud-hosted platform, the council hopes to provide “a consistent and accessible service” for more than 116,000 households and 15,000 businesses, while increasing efficiency and responsiveness.
The platform will create “a data-driven foundation” for managing council tax, business rates, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support. Automation will remove duplication and manual work, enabling staff to focus on supporting residents when it matters most. The Council will also have access to Civica’s OnDemand Resource, giving access to trained experts who can assist with implementation, backlogs and staff absences.
Offering unified services
In 2026, the Council will adopt Civica Collect to strengthen debt recovery and oversight across the former authorities. Offering a consolidated debt view and the ability to automate up to 60 percent of recovery processes, it said “the system supports financial stability while enabling more meaningful engagement with residents through its welfare-centered approach.”
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“The new cloud-based system will deliver significant savings and offer citizens a smarter, more consistent and connected service,” said Emily Douglin, executive director – local government at Civica, commented.
“As councils across the UK continue their local government reorganisation journeys, this contract sets a strong precedent for how GovTech can enable truly unified services that work better for everyone.”
Cllr Andrew Jarvis, cabinet member for finance at Westmorland and Furness Council, added, “This new system means all residents will receive the same high-quality service, wherever they live. It will give us one set of processes, a more flexible workforce, and deliver real efficiency gains through automation and smarter ways of working.”
