Local authority debt recovery In the frame Valentina Ruggiero, category lead at Crown Commercial Service, on a new framework that rethinks debt recovery in a post-pandemic world he environment in which debt recovery operates has changed, but solutions that deliver fair outcomes and value for money are needed just as much as they were before the pandemic. Last year, Crown Commercial Service (CCS) launched a new debt resolution services (DRS) framework that provides debt collection, enforcement, and other related services to the public sector. T Why was DRS created? After engagement with our partners across the public sector, our subject-matter experts identified a need for a government-led solution that would offer all public sector entities a best-in-class solution, and an easy route for debt solution. One local authoritys debt-recovery team with which we work told us that, pre-pandemic, it was able to dedicate 100 per cent of its time to managing enforcement contracts, but was now only able to give 20 per cent to those contracts. We built this framework with them and others in mind, to reduce some of that resource pressure. It takes away a large proportion of the procurement heavy loading, to create a streamlined process that organisations across the public sector can use. Debt recovery is never an easy issue and we know it can cause difficulties for all parties involved. We wanted to ensure that what we were creating would be doing the right thing, for the right people, so we adopted a social-value approach when drawing up the framework. This involved working with leading debt charities, including the Money and Pensions Service and StepChange, who both endorsed this framework. How was DRS created? The framework was designed by the public sector for the public sector. In creating it, we spoke to more than 100 stakeholders across the board for their input. Our procurement experts vetted suppliers through a vigorous process, to ensure the framework allows access to the best suppliers that can provide the right service. We worked to ensure maximum protections for our customers and suppliers, taking the work away from future customers while ensuring flexibility to embed future requirements into call-off contracts. What makes enforcement through DRS unique? An innovative part of the framework is the offering of two enforcement solutions. The first is a traditional enforcement panel, where It is vitally important that public sector debtrecovery processes achieve fair and sustainable outcomes for those struggling with problem debts. At MaPS, we have been delighted to work with CCS from the outset, to help embed social value within the DRS framework Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) 28 PN Sept 2022 pp28-29 Crown.indd 28 22/08/2022 09:30