Voicescape has strengthened its footprint across the public sector, after being appointed by Hartlepool Borough Council. This follows a number of local government client wins in recent months.

The Manchester-based software business, which provides resident engagement solutions for social landlords and local authorities, will work alongside Hartlepool Borough Council to help improve customer engagement and reduce council tax arrears, by increasing collection rates through the use of automation and technology.

Hartlepool Borough Council will utilise Voicescape’s Collections solution. In many cases, unpaid council tax can quickly escalate to court proceedings and the Collections solution enables local authorities to engage with residents early on in the process in an attempt to prevent legal intervention.

The technology will enable the council to engage quickly with council tax payers in arrears to negotiate payment arrangements. A dedicated team will use the technology to better understand the circumstances of council residents, and tailor an approach to arrears management.

Lisa Graham, Principal Recovery Officer at Hartlepool Borough Council, said: ‘The key across all local authorities, particularly in the current climate, is to protect current income streams and prevent issues arising from people getting into arrears by engaging early and proactively.

‘Using a unique combination of automation technology, behavioural insights and data science, Voicescape creates bespoke communication solutions that help public service organisations drive substantial operational efficiencies and service-level improvements.’

The Hartlepool win comes after Voicescape was appointed by Middlesbrough Borough Council, Durham Council, Newcastle City Council, and Luton Council, to help support income collection.

Sean Sutton, Head of Local Government at Voicescape, said: ‘Local authorities have been severely affected by a global pandemic and are now having to tackle a financial crisis that is sharply reducing resources, growing bad debt provision, and increasing fraud and insolvency.

‘Now more than ever, ethical collections and improving customer relationships are key to how local authorities operate, as they play a central role in supporting people through the cost of living crisis.

‘We’re delighted to be working alongside Hartlepool Borough Council to help them engage with residents in a more productive way, combining innovation and technology to create more efficient processes and methods of communication and collections, to support individuals who are finding it difficult to cope with their financial problems.’