We’re partnering with the London Borough of Lambeth, using artificial intelligence to improve communication processes, streamline operations and drive better customer experiences across key departments, including corporate services, revenues and benefits and parking enforcement. Our solutions support council efficiencies, contribute to carbon reduction and maximise income.
Challenges: High volume of communications and fragmented systems
Lambeth Council manages over 150 departments that provide a wide range of essential services to more than 330,000 citizens, from education and community safety to housing, recreation and transport. Keeping customers at the forefront and ensuring fast, efficient service delivery is critical. However, with limited internal resources and a history of unsatisfactory third-party providers, the council needed a partner experienced in digital transformation and communication management to enhance both their internal processes and external communications with citizens.
Recognising Capita’s expertise in technology-driven communications, Lambeth Council selected us to deliver a suite of solutions that would meet their needs and drive long-term efficiency.
Solutions: Comprehensive intelligent communication services across key departments
Corporate services
Using AI, we designed an overarching, purpose-built management information (MI) dashboard and employee help portal, enabling the council’s central team to review department-specific details quickly and easily. This solution optimises digital change spending, maximising cost savings and efficiency. We also introduced a single sign-on (SSO) system, allowing users to access and print department-specific letters. All mail is now redirected from Lambeth properties and delivered to our mail processing centre in Darlington, where AI-driven rules ensure documents are routed correctly. A hybrid print driver allows users to print from desktops directly to our central print site in Mansfield, where mail is printed, enveloped, and dispatched.
Revenues and benefits
We introduced a customised print and mail service for the council’s revenues and benefits department in 2011, which is still in use today. This solution eliminated the need for an internal mailroom and significantly reduced costs. Our production site, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, handles large volumes efficiently and takes advantage of postal discounts due to the volume and sortation we provide. We also implemented an electronic document management system (EDMS) for document sign-offs, quarantining summonses, and suppressing records when payments are made before the mail date. This system ensures administrative visibility and easy access to proofs via a secure file transfer service.
Parking services
In 2018, we were awarded Lambeth Council’s parking contract, which has been extended until 2026. We developed a tailored solution to meet their specific needs, focusing on customer service and adherence to strict service level agreements (SLAs). These include same-day processing of all incoming mail, around 450 items daily, and the printing and dispatch of approximately 2,500 PCN notices per day. Our solution also includes outbound transactional print and mail services for PCNs, FPNs, debt collection letters, and parking permits, as well as inbound services for payment collection and returned mail processing. Detailed MI reports and return-to-base PDFs provide transparency and support for future appeal cases.
Results: Seamless operations, cost savings and improved productivity
Across all departments, our communications solutions have created measurable efficiencies, streamlined processes, and reduced operational costs:
Corporate services
- We delivered a phased three-month inbound and outbound communication solution within four weeks, while simultaneously training over 3,000 employees on the new technology.
- This transformation has enabled faster complaint resolution and significantly improved processes across all departments.
- We now process over 150,000 citizen letters annually.
- Returned mail volumes have decreased by 70%, alleviating pressure on call centres and back-office administration.
- The MI dashboard provides real-time oversight, enabling better budget control and process improvements.
- Our central print site delivers over 50% savings compared to in-house production, and 3,000 desktop users can now print and mail documents without manual intervention.
Revenues and benefits
- We print and mail over 390,000 packs annually for the revenues and benefits department, while over 310,000 inserts were procured during annual billing.
- Digitisation has removed the need for the administration, storage, printing and destruction of physical pre-printed documents, saving on print and production expenses.
- By merging over 24,000 packs annually, we have generated postal savings of over £14,000 each year.
- All packs are now printed and mailed by the next working day, improving speed of delivery to citizens.
- Staff can easily access and retrieve documents through a secure portal, improving the proofing process and eliminating delays.
- The application of Bill and Ben matching minimises administrative and postage costs through conditional pack content and entity identification.
Parking services
- We process around 600,000 parking notices annually for Lambeth Council, including PCNs, permits, and debt recovery notices.
- Approximately 120,000 mail items are scanned and processed and over £240,000 in cheque payments are handled annually.
- Our monthly service review with the council consistently marks our quality of service as green on Heatmaps – a metric scored on service, relationship, change, commercial and innovation.
- Our involvement has freed up internal resources, allowing the council to focus on other priorities, such as improving parking enforcement strategies and monitoring additional camera placements.
Ongoing innovation and partnership
At Capita we’re committed to continuous improvement and innovation. We maintain an ongoing dialogue with the council to explore additional service provisions and ensure we remain on track with all our deliverables. Our innovation tracker allows us to monitor new opportunities and implement enhancements that further streamline council operations, ultimately improving citizen service delivery.
Arti Mawji, Programme Manager for Digital, Data and Technology, Lambeth Council
"The team at Capita are incredibly responsive and approachable, fostering a very close working relationship. Their efforts in helping us cut costs have been immensely helpful and demonstrate their desire to work with us as partners rather than just clients. We have developed a very good working relationship with them.
Grant Jones
Parking & Enforcement Supplier Relationship Manager, Lambeth Council.
“Since October 2016, Lambeth Council has enjoyed a successful partnership with Capita and they have consistently delivered on all service commitments. Capita have efficiently produced various document types using hosted templates and data files, managed PCN & FPN payment collections, handled goneaways, and facilitated general correspondence. Additionally, Capita has been instrumental in transferring hard copy documents, setting up retrieval and scan-on-demand processes, and implementing a bulk scanning solution. They consistently meet and exceed all KPIs. Our relationship with Capita is positive, proactive, and supportive. I highly recommend Capita to any prospective clients.”
Contact us
Are you ready to streamline your communications, create cost savings and greater efficiency? Contact us today to discover how our intelligent solutions can transform your everyday operations:
