Commercial Services - Training Courses; Council Tax and Benefits

• Bespoke training courses in all areas of council tax and housing benefits administration
• Delivered by experienced local government training officers who understand the law and administration processes
• Having worked with a number of Essex councils we appreciate that specific needs and priorities differ across local authorities
• Course delivery is tailored to cater for the specific needs and priorities of your organisation
• Courses for either Civica or Academy users will enable staff to gain hands on experience of work procedures and processing
• Training sessions include a thorough explanation of relevant law/legislation and can include administration exercises
• We come to you. All training is delivered on the customer's premises, a considerable saving in time and travelling expenses etc.

Courses now available

See links under the following headings for course details and booking advice.

If you cannot find the exact course you have in mind in the following list then please contact our Revenues Training Officer to discuss your specific requirements. See contact details bottom of page.

General courses

• Training Course - An Introduction to Welfare Benefits
  A one day introduction to the state benefits system with some useful tips to ensure your customers are getting their full benefits entitlement.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit Entitlement for Persons from Abroad
  A one day introduction to understanding which state benefits a person from abroad is entitled to and the criteria a person from abroad must satisfy in order to receive Housing Benefit.

Courses for users of the CIVICA revenues and benefits system

• Training Course - Council Tax for Customer Contact Staff (for CIVICA users)
  A two day course for staff who deal with Council Tax enquiries from the general public, either face to face or over the phone, using the CIVICA revenues and benefits system.
• Training Course - Council Tax Discounts, Disregards and Exemptions (for CIVICA users)
  A two day course of in-depth instruction on entitlement to Council Tax discounts, disregards and exemptions and by how much they can reduce the amount charged.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit for Customer Contact Staff (for CIVICA users)
  A two day course for staff who deal with Housing Benefit enquiries from the general public, either face to face or over the phone, using the CIVICA revenues and benefits system.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit New Claims (for CIVICA users)
  A 2 day introduction course on assessing applicant eligibility to claim Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support and how to process new claims using the CIVICA revenues and benefits system.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit Changes in Circumstances (for CIVICA users)
  A 2 day course of instruction on how a change in circumstances can affect a claimant's entitlement to benefit and how to amend a claimant's entitlement to benefit using the CIVICA revenues and benefits system.

Courses for users of the ACADEMY (now Capita One)** revenues and benefits system

** The revenues system referred to here as 'Academy' is in fact now branded as Capita One however, for the time being we still refer to this as 'Academy', which appears to be more familiar to the majority of our customers.

• Training Course - Council Tax for Customer Contact Staff (for ACADEMY users)
  A two day course for staff who deal with Council Tax enquiries from the general public, either face to face or over the phone, using the ACADEMY revenues and benefits system.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit for Customer Contact Staff (for ACADEMY users)
  A two day course for staff who deal with Housing Benefit enquiries from the general public, either face to face or over the phone, using the ACADEMY revenues and benefits system.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit New Claims (for ACADEMY users)
  A 2 day introduction course on assessing applicant eligibility to claim Housing Benefit and Local Council Tax Support and how to process new claims using the ACADEMY revenues and benefits system.
• Training Course - Housing Benefit Changes in Circumstances (for ACADEMY users)
  A 2 day course of instruction on how a change in circumstances can affect a claimant's entitlement to benefit and how to amend a claimant's entitlement to benefit using the ACADEMY revenues and benefits system.

Our course instructors

Alex Eady - Senior Training Officer

Alex joined Basildon Council in 2013. After a short spell in customer services he was recruited into the council's revenues and benefits section, since when he has gone on to become an expert in revenues and benefits law and the Civica Open Revenues system. Alex is known for the ever approachable and patient manner in which he delivers informative, interactive courses which include 'hand's on' experience using the CIVICA system.

Further information and enquiries

• To arrange a course booking please submit an online call back form
• For further information and other training course enquiries please contact Dave Warrilow, our Senior Training Officer. See contact details below...