Scrutiny committee to consider changes to customer services opening times

Shropshire Councillors will scrutinise proposals to shorten opening times of Shropshire Council’s customer service centre, to enable staff to devote more time to outbound calls to people who may need support.

Performance Management Scrutiny Committee will discuss this next week (Wednesday 1 March 2023), ahead of a public consultation.

The proposals, on which consultation is expected to begin in March, support the council’s drive to encourage more people to do business with it online, while still providing telephone contact for those who need it.

These changes would also allow customer service advisers more time to make outbound calls, ensuring that some of the county’s most vulnerable residents get the help they need at the earliest possible opportunity.

Claire Wild, Chair of Performance Management Scrutiny Committee, said:-

“Our customer service centre provides a contact for over 50 essential services, from adults and children’s services through to highways, waste and planning.

“Before any changes are made we will be asking you for your views on our proposals. Please make sure you get involved and have your say.”

The proposed changes, which will be considered by Cabinet following the period of consultation, would, if implemented, reduce opening times to six hours a day on weekdays, but affect only generalist non-emergency service requests handled by the customer service centre (CSC) which are also available online.

The CSC would remain open at the times it is most busy.

The opening times of other more complex council services, including First Point of Contact for adults and children’s services, homelessness calls, or calls to the local welfare support team for financial support, would not change.

To read the report, people can visit the council’s website.

The Performance Management Scrutiny Committee will take place from 10am on Wednesday 1 March 2023 and can be viewed live on the council’s YouTube channel.

It is important to note that no final decisions on these proposals have yet been made.