Decision details

Improvement of Customer Services Centre offer of pre-arranged appointments for face-to-face contact online as well as over the phone, the re-opening of the public PC area and expansion of opening hours to accommodate extra Register Office appointments.

Background
Prior to the pandemic the Centre offered a mix of appointments and drop-in sessions. With customers able to drop-in to see a Customer Services Advisor, make an electronic payment, scan documents, attend Register Officer appointments or use a public PC for accessing Council services. The Customer Services Centre was closed in March 2020 with limited re-opening from July 2020.
Following Member agreement in mid-August 2021 the Corporate booking system which allows staff to book and collect visitors for Town Hall meetings went live and staff were able to book essential appointments to see customers within the Centre.
Customer Services is currently operating as follows:
• Reception is open 8.30am-4.45pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am-4.15pm Friday for Corporate Visitors. All Corporate Visitors should be booked in using the online booking system which is available to all staff.
• Pre-arranged appointments for customers for the Register Office and Customer Services are available 10am-3pm Monday to Friday.
• Financial Protection customer appointments are available 1pm to 3pm Monday & Tuesday.
• Homeless presentations can access the Customer Services Centre on a drop-in basis 8.30am-4.45 Monday to Thursday and 8.30am-4.15pm Friday.
• Public PC area remains closed.
• Payment kiosk and Scanstations are available for use 8.30am-4.45pm Monday to Wednesday, 9.30am-4.45pm Thursday and 8.30am-4.15pm Friday.
• Phone lines are open 8.30am-4.45pm Monday to Wednesday, 9.30am-4.45pm Thursday and 8.30am-4.15pm Friday.
Customers continue to be advised to complete and access Council services online or via telephone where possible to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus.

Proposal
It is proposed that from the 4th October 2021:
• Customer access to the online appointment booking system goes live, allowing customers to book appointments for face-to-face contact.
• Appointments will continue to be restricted to those appointments that Customer Services offer to ensure there is appropriate staffing resources.
• To re-open some of the public PC areas to allow customers to access and pay for Council Services online from the centre.
• To expand appointment times for customers to 9.00am-4.00pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 9.30am-4.00pm Thursday, to allow for an increase in appointments and allow maximum flexibility for customers.
• To review in 3 months (Jan 2022) unless further restrictions are re-introduced.
To facilitate the expansion of appointments we will:

• Continue to offer the facility for customers that are unable to book an appointment online, to book over the phone or via a Customer Services Advisor within the Centre.
• Increase the opening times for appointments to 9am to 4pm and reduce appointment slots to 30 minutes.
• Adhere to existing Safe Systems of Work to maximise safety to staff, customers and visitors. (Appendix 1)

Financial/staffing/health & safety (including virus transmission risks)/service delivery impacts/other risks and impacts considered

A restricted appointment only service allows us to ensure that staff and customers are kept as safe as possible and virus transmission is reduced and allows sufficient time for the Agile Working review to be completed.
It allows Customer Services to easily manage the number of customers and staff within the centre and ensures that social distancing can be appropriately managed.
It further allows for pre-appointment Health and Safety checks to be carried out on customers prior to staff attending appointments which will assist in risk assessments.

Equality Impacts - consider separate impact assessment where appropriate
EIA screening tool completed, no requirements for a full EIA as no impact on customers’ ability to access and arrange appointments.
For any customers unable to arrange an appointment online there is the facility to book over the phone or via staff at the Customer Services Centre.

To offer an increased appointment and online appointment system from October 4th, 2021, including the re-opening of the public PC area and expansion of opening times to 9am to 4pm.

Reason for Decision
It is essential that we continue with a planned approach to increasing face-to-face access to services whilst maintaining safety measures for customers and staff. It has been evident over the last 18 months that many customers are able and prefer to contact us electronically and services have adjusted their offer to meet this demand. However, it is essential that we continue to improve our customer journey for those not able to access services online or over the phone in the safest means possible.
By expanding opening hours with the appointment system it allows us to:

• Ensure social distancing can be managed effectively within the centre.
• Increase the number of available appointments for Customer Services and Register Office customers.
• Minimise risk of infection and violent incidents to staff and customers.
• Manage resources effectively, ensuring appropriate staffing resources are available for each day, thereby complimenting Corporate Agile Working policies.
• Monitor and maintain the number of customers within the Centre at any one time.
• Ensure the availability of interview rooms for services such as Financial Protection Team and Housing Options where customers are unable to pre-book appointments.
• Allow appropriate time for appropriate cleaning of rooms and equipment.
• Reduce any use of waiting areas to a minimum.
• Allow staff the facility to carry out appropriate risk assessments prior to meeting a customer as all appointments will be pre-booked.
• Allow safe and managed access to public PCs and Scanstations.
• Reduce costs to services as customers will book the appointment themselves potentially without the need to telephone or email services direct.
• Improve the digital offer to customers to make appointments online.

None