Insights archive
The latest Visionary Network Monday Discussion Group ranged widely, from the council tax treatment of houseboats to the implications of the King’s Speech for local government, digital services and future welfare administration. The session…
Read articleRecurring digital payments have quietly become a fixed feature of household finances across the UK, Europe and the United States. For revenues and benefits services, understanding their scale, their cross-national consistency — and their…
Read articleThe Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group on 30 March ranged across three familiar but connected themes: supported housing, local government reorganisation and the latest poverty figures. What tied the conversation together was…
Read articleReflections from the Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group This week’s Independent Revenues and Benefits Monday Discussion Group ranged widely, but two themes dominated the discussion: the government’s latest youth employment package, and…
Read articleMeeting note for 9 February 2026 The slide pack is too large to send by email this week. Please download it from is page, alongside the recording and other related reports. The pack is…
Read article19 January 2026 (12:02pm) The group marked “Blue Monday” with a mixture of humour and hard reality: policy change arriving at speed, year-end pressures stacking up, and councils trying to keep services stable while…
Read article1. Council tax administration High Value Council Tax Surcharge (HVCTS) The main direct council tax change is the new High Value Council Tax Surcharge: Administrative implications for councils: There are no direct changes to…
Read articleSummary of participant views – 24 November 2025 This week’s Monday Discussion Group opened with a sense of déjà vu. With the Budget only days away, Malcolm Gardner remarked that most of its contents…
Read articleIndependent Revenues & Benefits Monday Discussion Group10 November 2025 The latest Monday Discussion Group, chaired by Malcolm Gardner, explored pension credit take-up, changes to notional pension income rules, and the real impact of the…
Read articleAt the latest Independent R&B Monday Discussion Group, chaired by Malcolm Gardner, members took a deep dive into the stubborn issue of unclaimed benefits, the challenges of Universal Credit, and the shifting dynamics of…
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