Changes To Customer Service Centres

More and more Caerphilly residents are accessing council services online, so Caerphilly Council has revised the opening hours of its local Customer Service Centres to reflect this trend. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Fewer people are using the walk-in Customer Service facilities now that residents can pay bills, request services and access information online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The opening hours of five out of the seven centres will be reduced from Monday 5th September 2016. Customer Service centres are currently located at Caerphilly, Bargoed, Risca, Blackwood, Pontlottyn, Penallta House (no change) and Newbridge (no change). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Barbara Jones, Deputy Leader of the Council said, “We recognise that the way our residents interact with the council is changing, so we need to respond to this trend. Our website provides a range of interactive services, but we are also mindful that not everyone has access to the internet so we will continue to offer a face-to-face service, albeit in a reduced capacity.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The proposal to reduce opening hours formed part of a widespread public consultation which was undertaken when the council was considering its budget proposals. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We want to ensure that residents can access council services in ways that are most convenient to them. It is important that we offer the right mix and whilst we are keen to embrace new technology, we also need to offer more traditional facilities to ensure than no residents are excluded,” added Cllr Jones. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​