Performance
Achievements against our Business Plan objectives
During the year, as well as successfully implementing the VTE on 1 October, with the necessary rebadging exercise that included the launch of a completely revamped website, we ran five other major projects. Most of these have now been completed and converted to ‘business as usual’. The change from a regional to a national structure, and the adaptations that were needed to maximise the effectiveness of having a small but significant proportion of the workforce home-based, have also impacted on the year’s activity. Nonetheless, in a year that saw our workforce reduce by 14 and net expenditure about £1 million less than last year, we received 12,000 more appeals and listed 33% (almost 30,000) more appeals than in 2008-09.
Twelve objectives, all of which related to improved service delivery and the implementation of the VTE, were fully completed. Five objectives were partially met, but we continue to progress these.
Some of our highlights include:
| Strategic priority 1 - Continue to improve our service delivery to all the parties to an appeal |
| We will benchmark and monitor our levels of tribunal user satisfaction, against other relevant public bodies and our own past survey results. We will seek to implement best practice initiatives by a gap analysis of satisfaction levels to identify areas of improvement | Focus groups were used to provide valuable feedback on our guidance leaflets and website, so that their expectations would be taken into account when changes were made. A pilot exercise of enhanced active case management was run in three of our offices. The perceptions of tribunal users experiencing this were evaluated and the successful aspects of the process have now been implemented in all offices. A ‘rolling’ telephone survey of tribunal users was set up to interview those who have attended tribunal hearings in the preceding month. This provides speedy quantitative and qualitative feedback enabling us to respond quickly. It also benchmarks us against similar bodies and results so far provide reasonable comparison. |
| Working in partnership with the President we will undertake a wide range of initiatives to realise measurable improvements in the tribunal user’s experience. | We revamped our website and prioritised the needs of first-time users of our service. A modelling exercise was carried out that suggested that local justice could be delivered using 80 optimum locations for venues around England; this is being taken forward in 2010-11. We have contributed to professional journals and spoken to different forums about the VTS/VTE. The VTE Users’ Group was set up with representatives from professional bodies, Federation of Small Businesses, Lands Tribunal, billing authorities and the VOA. |
| Strategic Priority 2 – Support the VTE President and CLG in the preparation and set up of the VTE to ensure successful implementation on 1 October 2009. |
| We will support the President in the delivery of improved judicial processes | We worked with CLG on regulatory changes and terms and conditions of appointment to the VTE. 12 Practice Statements and a Model Procedure were issued by the President and publicised; a training programme for members was developed and carried out. A member booking system for the single national Tribunal was initiated. |
| Strategic Priority 3 – Deliver an efficient and effective service that provides excellent value for money |
| We will improve our financial effectiveness and efficiency | All SAP processes are now centralised in Head Office. The Finance Committee was set up in July 2009 to provide close review and scrutiny on behalf of the Board. Regular reporting mechanisms were put in place between delegated budget holders and the EMT, the EMT and the Finance Committee and Board. |
| Strategic Priority 4 – Develop our IT to improve service delivery
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| We will improve our IT systems in support of our change agenda | The appeals database and the website were changed to reflect the VTS/VTE as a ‘joined-up’ service for tribunal users. Changes to the appeals database to meet the needs of the 2010 revaluation were implemented. Developments to move from GSX to GSI security systems, to enable remote and mobile access to our systems and to bring into play a management information system for appeals data were all initiated but delayed and will be finished in 2010-11. |
| Strategic Priority 5 – Develop our valued staff to provide a motivated workforce and excellent service to users |
| We will motivate, retain and develop our staff | Head Office staff and network staff were put onto a common pay scale. A revised appraisal system was developed. CPD for professional staff was introduced (20 hours a year). A national Staff Conference was held. A staff survey was delayed due to the ongoing operational activity. 10 people were employed as ‘remote and mobile’ working staff, when their offices were closed. |
Workload
During the year, we received 120,000 appeals, a slight rise on 2008-09. Almost 95,000 appeals were carried forward in April 2009. Not all the appeals we receive follow through to a hearing, as some are agreed through negotiation between the parties in the period leading up to the hearing date. Sixty-three per cent of all types of appeals listed for hearing were settled in 2009-10.
130,000 appeals were cleared and the table below shows the detail of these figures by appeal type. There remain a small number of appeals outstanding from the 1995 and 2000 rating lists that are awaiting relevant higher court decisions, or where national negotiations are under way.
| Type of appeal | Brought
forward | Received | Cleared | Carried forward |
| Non-domestic Completion notice appeals | 123 | 491 | 441 | 173 |
| Non-domestic rates 1995 Rating List | 64 | 0 | 24 | 40 |
| Non-domestic rates 2000 Rating List | 2,183 | 21 | 1,570 | 634 |
| Non-domestic rates 2005 Rating List | 90,182 | 115,909 | 123,976 | 82,115 |
| Council tax Completion notices appeals | 191 | 594 | 715 | 70 |
| Council tax valuation list and invalidity notice appeals | 1,494 | 2,321 | 2,182 | 1,633 |
| Council tax valuation appeals (pre Appeals Direct) | 273 | 0 | 222 | 51 |
| Council tax liability | 442 | 840 | 885 | 397 |
| Penalties for non-domestic rates return | 23 | 20 | 41 | 2 |
| Total | 94,975 | 120,196 | 130,056 | 85,115 |
Please note that some ‘Brought forward’ figures this year differ slightly from the ‘Carried forward’ figures reported last year. This is due to the appeals statistics package, to be replaced in 2010, which takes a snapshot of data at a fixed point in time. This data can change over the course of a day, due for example to re-instatements or settlements of appeals.
Receipts of non-domestic rating appeals increased by 12,000 over last year’s figure as the life of the 2005 rating list came to an end; council tax valuation appeals receipts remained at a similar figure to last year.
The chart below shows the workload for 2009-10 compared to 2008-09, quarter by quarter.
A key service standard commitment for VTS staff is to issue a tribunal panel’s reasoned decision (in a contested case) to the parties within one month of the hearing date. This is important because our customer surveys show that early receipt of the decision is significant to tribunal users. In 2009-10, a total of 3,168 such decisions were issued, 94.5% of which were issued within one month.
During the year, 1,472 tribunal hearings were held. We listed 33% more appeals than in the previous financial year; 2,067 appellants attending a hearing to pursue an appeal in person and 952 appeals were determined in the absence of the appellant by request.
Key Performance Indicators
In our Business Plan for 2009-10, we set ourselves a number of performance indicators. Reporting on several of these was reliant on our having in place a management information system; in the event this was delayed and will be implemented in summer 2010. Of those we can report on accurately, we exceeded our target for the number of decisions issued within one month of the hearing and our target for reducing the number of days of staff sickness absence. We met our 3% efficiency savings target. However, we did not meet a target of responding to 95% of complaints within 10 working days (achieving 87.5%). This is an area where we shall be looking for improvement in 2010-11, when our targets are defined better and our performance against the targets can be measured more accurately.
Complaints
The VTS maintains a register of all complaints received in its offices. Our Customer Charter and Complaints Policy were both revised. They are published on the VTS website and issued to anyone expressing dissatisfaction with the service they receive from the administration.
During the year under review, 37 complaints about the administration were registered (compared to 30 complaints in 2008-09 and 49 in 2007-08). Three complaints were referred to the Corporate Director/CEO for investigation for maladministration (three in 2008-09 and six in 2007-08); no instances of maladministration were found. One case from 2008-09 was this year referred to the Parliamentary and Health Services Ombudsman. Following an investigation, maladministration was not found, however a small consolatory payment was made to the complainant.
The Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act 2000, requests
During the year, the VTS received and responded to 26 requests made under these Acts, (compared to 20 in 2008-09 and nine in 2007-08). No internal reviews were carried out; no cases were referred to the Information Commissioner