End of an Era: Barnet UNISON Calls for Revenues & Benefits to Be Brought Back In-House as Capita Era Closes

Barnet UNISON has today called on Barnet Council’s Cabinet Committee to seize what it describes as a “historic moment” for the borough by bringing the Revenues & Benefits service back under direct council control.

After 13 years of Capita delivering major council services under the previous Conservative administration’s One Barnet outsourcing programme, the remaining contracts are now approaching expiry in September 2026.

“This is the end of an era in Barnet,” said John Burgess, Branch Secretary of Barnet UNISON.
“For 13 years the Council has relied on a mass outsourcing model. It has been controversial, heavily scrutinised and widely debated. Now Members have the opportunity to take a different direction.”

The Cabinet Committee on 24 February is being asked to approve steps that would allow new outsourced contracts to be awarded for the remaining services, including Revenues & Benefits — the service responsible for Council Tax and Business Rates collection and key elements of income recovery.

Barnet UNISON’s report argues that Revenues & Benefits is too fundamental to the Council’s financial resilience and too central to residents’ lives to sit outside direct public control.

“This is not a back-office technical function,” Burgess said.
“It is the service that determines how council income is secured and how arrears are managed. It affects every household in Barnet. Decisions about income collection and recovery should be democratically accountable — not managed through contract monitoring and improvement plans.”

The union’s submission highlights that council reports continue to reference collection pressures and governance mechanisms to manage risk. Barnet UNISON argues that monitoring contractors is not the same as having direct operational control over a core sovereign income function.

“After 13 years, this is the moment to draw a line under One Barnet,” Burgess added.
“Labour now has the opportunity to restore direct council control over a vital public service and demonstrate that public income functions belong in the public sector.”

Barnet UNISON is urging Cabinet Committee to:

• Reject further outsourcing of Revenues & Benefits
• Instruct officers to prepare an in-house delivery plan
• Confirm that income generation and recovery policy should sit directly within the Council

“This decision will shape Barnet for years to come,” Burgess said.
“We believe this is the right moment to bring Revenues & Benefits home.”

ENDS