UK government aims to revolutionise the debt management process for fairer customer outcomes
Sopra Steria (https://www.soprasteria.co.uk/), a purpose driven digital transformation provider, today announces it has been selected by Crown Commercial Service (CCS) as one of two managed service providers for debt collection within the government’s new Debt Resolution Services framework.
 
CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21 CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04 billion - supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers.
 
The contract agreement follows an intensive, two-year competitive process to deliver fairer and more effective debt collection and management approaches across the UK government. Sopra Steria was selected on its ethical credentials as well as its experience working with the financial services industry to deliver customer-centric digital solutions.
 
Within the framework, Sopra Steria will bring the advantages of emerging technology to the forefront of government debt collection. The solution will enable government departments to better assess the citizen or business situations when recovering monies owed. It can help debt collectors make a fair assessment on the affordability and vulnerability for each individual and business, to ensure a suitable debt collection process is put in place.
 
In line with regulatory requirements, Sopra Steria Financial Services Ltd has been accredited with the ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certifications, a recognition of the quality of standards and data management within the business.
 
Better customer outcomes
 
As part of the newly created Debt Resolution Services framework and having secured accreditation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Sopra Steria will work with the government to revolutionise the debt collection process, with a strong focus on treating customers fairly and providing better customer outcomes.
 
By looking at the entire end-to-end customer journey, the Sopra Steria solution can assess the debt management needs of the individual or business. The system will be able to assess affordability and identify vulnerabilities. The new framework aims to treat customers fairly throughout the entire debt recovery process, with the goal of helping people better manage their finances and get out of the debt cycle. 
 
Sopra Steria has conducted intensive market research over the past two years to better understand the needs and expectations of both the citizen and government when it comes to debt management. The announcement today signals the government’s confidence in Sopra Steria’s capabilities and digital innovation credentials, which it is already using to revolutionise debt collection in a number of organisations. The business has ambitions to further enhance debt collection across financial services, utilities, retail and other sectors where customer debt management can be a challenge.
 
Rob McElroy, CEO of Sopra Steria Financial Services said:
 
“It’s encouraging to see the public sector embracing digital transformation to improve its services to citizens. Debt management is a sensitive matter for many people, and it’s important that government has the right tools and intelligence to make a fair assessment on individual circumstances and financial needs. By doing this, the debt management process will be fairer, ethical and provide more positive outcomes for the individual as well as the government.
 
“The UK government has high ambitions to revolutionise the way debt collection is managed, and we are here to help. Ethics is in the DNA of all our business thinking and service designs. We are committed to helping the government do the right thing, deliver real social value and create a better and fairer debt collection service for all.”