Policy in Practice and Civica partner to maximise council efficiency while helping residents unlock £24bn in unclaimed support

Civica and Policy in Practice are partnering to make it easier for residents to find and access the financial support they’re eligible for directly through the systems councils already use.

Across the UK, billions of pounds in benefits and financial support go unclaimed every year. For residents, finding out what support is available can be difficult. For councils, connecting people to the right support at the right time can involve multiple systems, processes and applications.

Our partnership is designed to make that journey simpler.

By bringing Policy in Practice’s Better Off Calculator and Apply Once functionality into the Civica environment, councils can give residents a more seamless route from identifying the support they’re eligible for to applying for it.

Policy in Practice estimates that £24bn of support goes unclaimed each year. A key challenge is making sure people know what they may be eligible for and can access it without unnecessary barriers. Together, Civica and Policy in Practice are working to help councils work smarter and deliver maximum community impact.

Through the integration with Civica, we bring our industry-leading Better Off Calculator directly into the Civica environment, creating a true ‘single front door’ that saves valuable officer time while getting help to those who need it most.

What this partnership delivers:

For council teams:

• Streamlined application journey: Converts a ‘Better Off’ assessment on GOV.UK straight into a back office ready CTR application with a single click.
• Streamlined assessments for CTR: Significantly reduces the time assessors spend on reviewing claims while ensuring support reaches residents at their moment of need.

For residents:

• Unlock £24bn in support: Automatically alerts residents applying for Council Tax Support or Housing Benefit of their eligibility for additional support.
• ‘Apply Once’ simplicity: Breaks down the complexity, awareness gaps, and stigma that prevent eligible families from claiming the help they need.

Finding out about support is only part of the challenge. Applying for it can be another.

With Apply Once, a resident completing a Better Off assessment on GOV.UK can move directly into a Council Tax Reduction application, with the information already gathered and ready for the council’s back office.

Residents don’t need to repeat information they have already provided, making the application journey faster, simpler, and more efficient. With less time and effort required, the risk of applicants abandoning the process is greatly reduced. For councils, this leads to more complete applications that are ready for back-office processing.