Update to the Council Tax, benefits and business rates system
Why we are updating our systems
We currently use 3 Revenues and Benefits software systems covering different areas within Buckinghamshire and are moving to a single system serving the whole of Buckinghamshire.
A single unified system will:
- mean a more efficient, and consistent service to council tax payers, benefit recipients and business rates payers
- provide a range of self-service options
- allow customers to access, check and update their details quickly
During the upgrade we will need to close our systems down for a period of time to allow for all the information to be moved across to the new system.
When the system goes down
The council tax, benefits and business rates systems are currently closed.
The systems closed on:
- Friday 12 August 2022 for former Chiltern and South Bucks district areas
- Thursday 22 September 2022 for former Aylesbury Vale and Wycombe district areas
The new single system is expected to be available from Thursday 27 October 2022.
The majority of residents will not be impacted by system close down.
Online forms will continue to be available so that you can tell us about changes to your circumstances, and make requests to the service.
We will continue supporting vulnerable customers and those who are less able to self-serve.
We will process requests and reply to emails in date order once we are able to do so at the beginning of November 2022.
If during the close down your circumstances change and you are in genuine hardship, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do all we can to help you.
How we will deal with requests and applications
During the close down of your areas revenue and benefits systems, all forms will continue to be available as normal.
So even when the systems are down, you can still make applications in a timely way.
These can be accessed via our website in our Council Tax, business rates and benefits sections as normal.
When claims will start
Any successful claims that have been submitted during our close down period, will start from the date the application was made.
How services will be affected
Find out how each service will be affected.
Before the system close down
If you receive a Council Tax or business rates reminder, final notice or summons ahead of the close down, you should continue to make a payment to clear your account balance. This is because payment systems are unaffected by the other system changes.
During the system close down
If you have been sent a reminder, final notice, or summons this will not be progressed during the period of the system close down.
We will recommence recovery in December 2022. For the former Chiltern and South Bucks district areas we’ll restart by sending out a reminder regardless of the notice you were issued before the system close down.
No further action will take place from Monday 15 August 2022 for former Chiltern and South Bucks district areas, and from Thursday 22 September for the Aylesbury and Wycombe areas.
Existing enforcement action already with the enforcement agents will continue but no new cases will be issued to enforcement agents during the system close down.
Moving in or out
You should tell us you are moving in or out of a property as usual using our online forms.
If you are moving out and pay by Direct Debit
If you are moving out of Buckinghamshire and pay by Direct Debit, then you can cancel your Direct Debit with your bank. This will prevent us taking payment after you have moved out.
If you are moving in
If you are moving into a property in Buckinghamshire from outside the county, please tell us using the online form and we will process your application when the system becomes operational on 27 October 2022.
You will receive a new bill in November 2022 detailing a schedule of payments from December 2022 to March 2023.
If you are having difficulties in making these payments, please contact us to arrange an extended payment schedule.
Moving within Buckinghamshire
If you are moving within Buckinghamshire and pay by Direct Debit, you can either:
- continue with your Direct Debit payments and, if there is a difference between the cost of your old and new Council Tax, we will apply any credit or debit to your new account when we process your moving home form
- cancel your Direct Debit, however please be aware that your instalments will be considerably higher to take the missed payments into account when we process your moving home form and issue your new bill
Discounts and exemptions
You can still apply for discounts online during the closedown period.
Your application will be processed as quickly as possible once the system is up and running from 27 October 2022.
Because of the closedown, we will have a backlog of work to process once the system is operational, therefore we are anticipating you will not receive a revised bill until late November 2022.
If you are in serious hardship and pay by Direct Debit
If you pay via Direct Debit and are experiencing serious hardship because of a discount or discretionary help not being awarded due to the close down, you can cancel your Direct Debit with your bank.
Once the discount or discretionary help has been applied after November 2022, you will receive a new bill with new instalments spread over the remaining months of this tax year.
Moving in
If you are moving into a business property in Buckinghamshire, please tell us using the tell us about a change to your business form and we will process your application when the system becomes operational on 27 October 2022.
You will receive a new bill in November 2022 detailing a schedule of payments from December 2022 to March 2023.
If you are having difficulties in making these payments, please email us to arrange an extended payment schedule on [email protected].
Moving out
If your business is moving out of a property you should let us know by using our tell us about a change to your business form and we will process your application when the system becomes operational on 27 October 2022.
If your business is moving out of Buckinghamshire and you pay by Direct Debit, then you can cancel your Direct Debit with your bank. This will prevent us taking payment after you have moved out of the county.
Discounts
You can still ask us for money off your business rates, however we will only be able to process your application when the system becomes operational on 27 October 2022.
If you are due an increase in Council Tax Reduction
If your circumstances change and you should be receiving an increase in Council Tax reduction during the system close down, we will take a look at your circumstances.
You can apply for discretionary help online, but we will only be able to process your application as quickly as we can after the new system is up and running from Thursday 27 October 2022.
In cases of extreme hardship, please email: [email protected].
If you are due a decrease in Council Tax Reduction
If you notify us of a change in circumstances that may affect your amount of Council Tax reduction during the system closedown, we may not be able to adjust your entitlement.
Any overpayments created by the closedown will be subject to the normal recovery procedure from November 2022.You will be issued with an updated bill.
We will be informing local housing associations that payments cannot be amended during the system closedown. Therefore they should not be chasing arrears and Direct Debits shouldn't be increased as a result of the close down.
If your private landlord is applying for an eviction
If you are facing eviction, please contacts us as soon as possible. We will discuss the situation with you, look at your circumstances and speak to the landlord on your behalf to see what we can do to help.
We may invite a claim for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP). We would provisionally assess entitlement and if successful, promise that a DHP payment would be made directly to the landlord once we are back up and running in November 2022.
Help could also be an emergency payment of Housing Benefit if your circumstances have changed significantly and you are facing extreme hardship.
You can apply for an emergency payment online.
If your circumstances change
If you are due an increase in housing benefit
If your circumstances change during the system close down which would result in an increase in housing benefit, and the delay in processing your change causes you extreme hardship you can apply for an emergency payment of Housing Benefit.
If you are due a decrease in housing benefit
If you notify us of a change in circumstances that may affect the amount of housing benefit you are paid during the system closedown, we will not be able to adjust your entitlement.
Any overpayments created by the closedown will be subject to the normal recovery procedure from November 2022.
Recovery from ongoing Housing Benefit entitlement at a level set by the DWP (this is negotiable with the council if this amount should cause hardship).
If you’re no longer in receipt of Housing Benefit, then an invoice will be issued which details how to contact the Overpayments Team if payment in full is not possible.
If you get Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, but you need extra help to pay your rent or Council Tax, you can apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) or discretionary award.
However, we will only be able to process your application as quickly as we can after the new system is up and running from Thursday 27 October 2022.
During the system close down we may be able to review cases of extreme need and send an email confirming what we will pay to the landlord or claimant when the new system is operational on 27 October 2022.
In exceptional circumstances we can make an emergency payment. Please contact us using the contact details at the bottom of the page.
If you have already been paid a discretionary award
We can review a DHP case that has been paid as we will have the test system to look back at during closedown. In cases of extreme need, an emergency payment of DHP during the system close down will be possible.
When the system is up and running
We will process requests and reply to emails in date order once we are able to do so at the beginning of November 2022.
The council will have additional staff available to clear the backlog of requests so that when items can be processed, they will be done as quickly as possible.
We anticipate being back to normal service levels by the end of January 2023.
The Customer Access system that we currently use for former Wycombe and Aylesbury Vale district residents, will be rolled out to residents in former Chiltern and South Bucks district areas so that all areas will be using the same system.
Former Chiltern and South Bucks district area residents will:
- be allocated a new account number to be used in future correspondence (the old account number will continue to work for payments)
- if they are Direct Debit payers, be notified that the Direct Debit service user number that appears on bank statements will be changing from Thursday 3 November 2022
Otherwise no action is needed, and Direct Debits will continue to be taken on the agreed schedule.
If your question hasn’t been answered, you can contact us online or by email:
In cases of extreme hardship, please email: [email protected].