Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer attached

This report outlines the proposed new delivery model for face-to face services currently delivered by the Customer Service Organisation (CSO).

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer, which outlined the proposed new delivery model for face-to-face services currently delivered by the Customer Service Organisation (CSO). 

Key points and themes of the report included:-

·                     An overview of the pre Covid Customer Service Centre (CSC) offer,

·                     Current arrangements as a result of the COVID19 pandemic; and

·                     Further detail on the piece of work to look at what a future operating model could look like and deliver for the Council and its residents.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

·                     There was a need to be clearer on what was meant by a signing service, if this was in reference to BSL;

·                     Would consideration be given to offering the video conferencing service in more libraries than just the three referred to in the report;

·                     What impact would the proposals have on non-staffing related budgets;

·                     What level of staffing was being proposed for the delivery of the new model of service;

·                     It was felt that the service currently provided by the Council was superior to organisations providing a comparable service;

·                     Further clarity was sought on the co-browsing proposals;

·                     What model had been used to identify the three pilot areas;

·                     It was felt that there was still a need to provide a direct face to face homelessness services for those who needed it in the Town Hall;

·                     Was there enough capacity to deal with any increase in demand on the service, including homelessness triage when the current hold on evictions due to the COVID19 pandemic comes to an end;

·                     The Committee had understood the report to be indicating that there would be face-to-face services in the libraries, but was this not in fact the case; and

·                     It was requested that information be provided to the Committee on the  number of residents requesting face to face appointments and subsequently getting these appointments and what follow up is being done to ensure residents are getting the support they require.

The Director of Customer Services and Transactions acknowledged the point made around signing service but advised that there was a range of different signing languages that people used so a collective reference was currently being used but this could be changed to something more appropriate if required.

The Committee was advised that the three libraries were just being used as a pilots for the video conferencing service.  If this was well received then consideration would be given to implementing this in other libraries across the city as the cost/physical infrastructure requirements for implementing were not insignificant.

The Director of Customer Services and Transactions advised that there were currently 18 staff in the CSC. There had been no face to face service offered since March 2020 due to the COVID19 pandemic and this new model only provided a face to face service at the CSC in the Town Hall, staffed by six employees, who would undertake a meet and greet function and any appointments that were required to be face to face at an appropriate location for the customer, which would include home visits if needed.  Elsewhere would be via video conferencing.

In terms of the co-browsing proposal, this would allow for Council staff to provide real time digital support and view what the resident was looking at on their screen or having difficulty in completing.

The Deputy Leader advised that the three pilot areas had been identified on geographical grounds, representing the north, central and south of the city where a library had a large enough interview room that could comply with COVID19 spacing requirements.

The Director of Customer Services and Transactions advised she would speak to the Director of Homelessness in regard to the point made around the need to retain a face to face service. There was no plan to do this in libraries.  In terms of increase demand on the service in relation to benefit claims, it was explained that any new benefit claimants would tend to be made by phone and the co-browsing proposals would support this.  In relation to concerns around any possible increases in homelessness triage, this too would need to be passed to the Director of Homelessness for an appropriate response.

Decisions

The Committee:-

(1)          Note the content of this report.

(2)          endorse the proposed approach to developing and implementing a new operating model for face-to-face Council Services.

(3)          Requests the officers take into account the comments made by the Committee when developing and implementing the new operating model.