Council tax - Delivering a quality service

The Local Taxes Division is committed to delivering a quality service to the Council Tax and Business Rates payers of Wolverhampton.

Investors in People 

We have held Investors in People since August 2000. Achieving this standard confirms that we have in place a training and development plan for all our staff to ensure the continued provision of a quality service to our customers. We have been successfully reaccredited with Investor in People in November 2002 and November 2005. 

Charter Mark 

The Local Taxes Division has held Charter Mark since December 2000. Charter Mark is the Government's award for recognising and encouraging excellence in public service.

To achieve our Charter Mark, we have met the following standards:

• Set standards of service and perform well
• Be actively engaged with our users, partners and staff
• Be fair and accessible to all and promote choice
• Continuously develop and improve
• Use resources effectively and imaginatively
• Contribute to enhancing opportunity and equality of life in the communities we serve.

The Local Taxes Division has been reaccredited with Charter Mark following further assessments in August 2004 and August 2007.

IRRV Award

The Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation deal with the professional qualification of revenues staff, advise the Government on council tax matters including new legislation, and also has a major role in delivering service improvement nationally and internationally.

During 2005, the Local Taxes Division of Wolverhampton City Council was shortlisted for the Excellence in Education, Training and Development Award. In 2007 we were shortlisted for the Excellence in Customer Service Award. 

Midlands Excellence

Midlands Excellence is a not for profit organisation that promotes excellence in organisations across the Midlands.

We won the special award of the Midlands Equal Opportunity Employer 2005. This award recognises that we promote equality and diversity for all our staff, partners and customers.

We were finalists in the award category for best small public and voluntary organisation in the Midlands 2005.

Direct Debit Award

We have won an award under the Local Authority Challenge 2006 for the quality of our Direct Debit Scheme from BACS Payment Schemes Ltd.

Investors in Excellence

In July 2006 we achieved the Investors in Excellence standard.

Investors in Excellence is a programme designed by Midlands Excellence to help all types of organisations to improve their all-round performance.

The programme is based on a standard of all-round excellence and covers all key performance areas including leadership, processes, people and customer results.

National Business Awards

In 2006 we were recognised in three categories at the National Business Awards.

We were a finalist in the Customer Focus Award, which recognises organisations that can best demonstrate that they have the customer at the heart of their business.

We were also highly commended in the Employer of the Year Award and the Business Improvement Through People Award.

Mission statement

Our Mission Statement, suggested by one of our members of staff, confirms our commitment to our customers:

'To bill and collect local taxes efficiently and effectively and continuously improve our services'.

Customer service standards

We have a range of customer service standards and monitor our performance against these standards on a regular basis. The results are displayed on a notice board at the Resources & Support enquiry counter and are published in leaflet form, please contact the Council Tax office if you would like a copy to be sent to you.

Customer consultation

We have a comprehensive consultation programme, and regularly consult with our customers about the level and quality of service they have received. The results of our consultation are displayed on a notice board at the

Putting things right when they go wrong

If you have a complaint about our service we want to hear about it. We will try to resolve the matter as informally and quickly as possible. If you would prefer to make a formal complaint you can do so through the Council's Complaints and Compliments procedure.