Project Overview
A UK local authority wanted to build a benefits eligibility checking tool enabling residents to check which co...
Technology Stack
Compliance & Standards
The Challenge
A UK local authority wanted to build a benefits eligibility checking tool enabling residents to check which council tax reduction, housing benefit, and discretionary fund benefits they may be eligible for — without having to apply for each separately. GDS 18-point Service Standard, WCAG 2.1 AA (mandatory under PSBAR 2018), UK GDPR lawful basis for benefits data processing, and GOV.UK Design System were all mandatory. The tool would be completed in no more than 8 minutes by the median resident. Budget: £65,000.
Our Approach
GDS User Research
35 user research sessions across demographic groups: elderly residents (digital inclusion considerations), residents with disabilities, residents with no fixed address.
Insight
most residents did not know how many benefits they were eligible for — the primary user need was discovery, not application.
Prototype tested
3 rounds of usability testing before a line of production code was written.
Eligibility Rule Engine
- Benefits eligibility is complex (council tax reduction: means-tested, capital limits, non-dependant deductions, student exemptions — 40+ rule variables).
- ClickMasters built a JSON-defined rule engine: eligibility rules stored as structured data (not hardcoded), allowing non-developers to update rules without a code release.
- This was key for keeping up with annual uprating.
- GOV.UK Design System and WCAG 2.1
AA
- GOV.UK Design System components throughout.
- WCAG 2.1
AA
manual screen reader testing (NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard navigation, error messages in plain English.
Reading level
all content at Flesch reading ease 70+ (GDS plain English standard).
Welsh language version
automatic translation of all static content via Google Cloud Translation API with human review.
UK GDPR for Sensitive Benefits Data
Benefits data is sensitive (may reveal financial status, disability, family circumstances).
Lawful basis
public task (local authority statutory duty).
Data minimisation
- the tool asks only what is needed to calculate eligibility — no surplus collection.
- No personal data retained after session end (session-only processing — right to erasure trivially satisfied).
The Results
Launched at 10 weeks, £61,000 — under budget.
GDS Beta assessment: passed first attempt.
WCAG 2.1 AA: zero issues on manual screen reader testing. 8,400 eligibility checks completed in first 3 months.
Benefit discovery: 34% of users found at least one benefit they did not know they were eligible for.
Average completion time: 6.8 minutes (target: <8 minutes).
Councillor feedback: cited at council meeting as digital transformation success.
“The rule engine was the clever bit — council tax reduction rules change every April and we cannot wait for a developer sprint every year. The JSON rule engine lets our welfare team update eligibility rules themselves. The GDS Beta pass on first attempt was a first for this council." — Digital Transformation Lead, UK Local Authority (name withheld)”
Project Details
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