We’re delighted to share that Lichfield District Council has been shortlisted in the LGC Awards within the category of Innovation for its banded Council Tax Support as a Discount service. A brand-new offering that we developed together to digitally transform the way the council administers Council Tax Support.
This nomination is a real testament to the team’s ambition, innovation and, above all, their dedication to supporting vulnerable residents. We thoroughly enjoyed helping the team overcome their challenges, and this recognition solidifies the originality in the way together we set out to rethink how Council Tax Support could work entirely.
The challenge they refused to accept
Lichfield supports around 5,300 council tax support claimants and receives more than 20,000 Universal Credit income updates each year. Every income change meant a reassessment and manual work. At its worst, decisions could take over a month.
The council had already introduced a new banded discount scheme in April 2023 to simplify entitlement and make automation possible. But simplification alone wasn’t enough. Manual processing was still slowing everything down. Faced with rising demand, more complex cases and fewer resources, they didn’t settle for small improvements.
Their goal was to provide same-day decisions, applied automatically whenever the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) notified the council of a change.
The solution we developed together
In October 2023, Lichfield entered a collaborative partnership with Govtech to design a fully automated, end-to-end solution.
The system now:
- Imports DWP Universal Credit data daily
- Calculates weekly household income
- Determines the correct discount band
- Applies the award directly to the council tax account
- Generates a full audit trail
- Flags complex cases for officer review.
This wasn’t automation for its own sake. It was carefully designed with frontline staff, who tested scenarios, stress-tested edge cases and helped build the fail-safes.
There were challenges along the way.
Disability benefits were not initially included in DWP data, which risked miscalculations. The team introduced an intelligent rule to automatically disregard relevant elements and apply a weekly allowance where needed. Joint household cases were deliberately paused/excluded for manual verification. Full PDF audit evidence is created for every change. Officers can pause or override automation at any point.
| From the very first interaction the team at Lichfield made it clear that ‘technology should support staff, not replace them’. |
Within two weeks of the system going live, the team had eliminated the backlog and moved to real-time processing. A service that once faced month-long delays was now operating same day.
What it’s enabled
The results have been immediate and significant.
“We needed automation that works to be able to manage our ever-increasing UC caseload. Working with Govtech we've been able to challenge our expectations and realise what can be achieved. This is a game changer for us. Claimants Council Tax bills are calculated accurately and on time, whilst my team can focus on vulnerable residents that need our support.”
Nicola Begley, Revenues, Benefits & Corporate Debt Recovery Service Manager, Lichfield District Council
“I'm so proud of the team for the work they've done in creating this fully automated solution with Govtech and for the recognition from LGC in being shortlisted for the innovation award. We strive to give the residents of Lichfield District the best possible service and whether we win the award or not, we've certainly done that.”
Lizzie Barton, Director, Resident & Business Services, Lichfield District Council
Operationally:
- 85% of DWP notifications are now fully automated
- 98% of working-age claimants are covered
- New claims are processed in one day instead of up to a month
- The team has absorbed the loss of a full-time post while improving resilience.
For residents:
- Real-time updates reduce anxiety and uncertainty
- Bills are simpler and clearer
- No need to report income changes manually
- Officers have more time for vulnerable households who need in-depth, human support.
For governance and cost control:
- Reduced risk of human error
- Built-in compliance and audit trails
- Prevention of backlog build-ups during income volatility
- Lower processing costs per claim.
Most councils still rely on basic automation and manual assessment for changes in council tax support. What makes Lichfield different is the scale and completeness of the automation. This is end-to-end. It uses real-time DWP data. It integrates directly into core systems. And it was shaped by the people delivering the service every day.
It hasn’t just improved speed. It has improved accuracy, resilience and the overall experience for residents.
Recognition that matters
To be shortlisted from over 1,000 entries makes this achievement even more significant.
As Martin George, acting editor of Local Government Chronicle, said:
“We received more than 1,000 entries to the LGC Awards 2026, making it another record-breaking year. It’s a huge achievement to make the shortlist. All too often, councils are the unsung heroes of their local areas, with brilliant staff working tirelessly to serve their communities. These awards are a chance to celebrate their innovation, dedication and compassion. It’s brilliant to see such a widespread and diverse range of councils and combined authorities represented on this year’s shortlist.”
| We couldn’t agree more. Councils rarely pause to talk about what’s working well. This shortlist recognises a team that looked at a growing problem and chose to solve it properly. |
Looking ahead
The work doesn’t stop here. Automation rates are expected to increase further as data continues to be refined. The council is already thinking about how the same principles can be applied elsewhere.
But for now, it’s time to take a moment. The suit’s been brushed off. The diary’s marked for June. And we’ll be there with everything crossed on awards night.
Whatever happens, this nomination already confirms what we’ve seen throughout this journey: Bold thinking, practical innovation and a relentless focus on doing right by residents.
Wishing you all the best of luck!
