The LGA has requested a copy of a letter that IT contractor, Capita, sent to its benefits and revenue clients, in which the firm warned it was ‘impossible' to fully adapt software for council tax benefits (CTB) prior to the localisation of CTB in 2013.

As reported in The MJ on 26 January, suppliers, council finance chiefs and sector IT experts have raised fears that ministers have not allowed sufficient time to stress-test individual CTB schemes between the passage of the Local Government Finance Bill and subsequent regulations – unlikely to be in place until October – and full CTB localisation from next April.