Highland Council finance chairman explains "service point" strategy
Hopes are high that Highland Council’s service points in Kingussie and Grantown could now escape the axe.
The hugely controversial move to shut down 23 public counters in the Highlands has been placed on ice after councillors voted 43-31 in favour of a review.
The decision to shut almost two-thirds of the service point network – amid falling demand and plans to improve its website – sparked a public outcry last month. The Independent group of opposition councillors said it would impact heavily on elderly and vulnerable people.
A partial climbdown from the SNP/Lib Dem/Labour coalition saw it win a crunch vote last Thursday at the full council meeting in Inverness after a two hour debate.
A cross-party 10-member board will be set-up to investigate the merits of service points across the region in a "rolling" 15-month consultation. It will have delegated powers but the full council will be able to call in any decision for final approval.
Local Highland Councillor Dave Fallows, who chairs the finance committee, spoke to the Strathy this week.
"There are many misconceptions about service points and what they do" he explained. "I’ve seen several emails in the last few weeks referring to loss of the ability to pay bills, and even one from the Bishop of Moray referring to loss of the ability to pay into credit union accounts, neither of which have been possible since the then opposition introduced changes in 2010 to stop taking cash at service points.
"But there are many things that can be done - and many of these are actually specialist.
"For example, if you need to discuss a housing problem, it is our local housing people that you speak to - at the service point, by appointment. Equally, if you need money advice, it is our specialist money advice tea people who will discuss your problem with you, either over the phone, or by appointment.
"Our current customer service staff do a great job in signposting people to the correct route and correct people to speak to. With other more obvious issues they log on to the Council’s system - this is exactly the sort of thing that will be quick and easy to do on the Council’s new website when it is launched in April.
"The new arrangement does not mean that service points just ‘close’and that’s that. They are not closing so much as being replaced, by a new self-service system that will allow folk to do the easier tasks themselves, together with a direct telephone line to the call centre, in most cases in a private room, which will allow them to set up appointments for the more specialist tasks.
"These points will be supported by staff who can both help people to get online on the computer, and also ‘signpost’ people to the right council staff service to talk to. Leaflets and the like, that are available at service points, will still be available.
"All in all, the proposals are all about what level of face to face intervention is really needed and is sustainable in an environment where visits to service point continue to fall substantially. At the same time, the Council needs to ensure that there continue to be key hubs where trained registration capable staff remain in post.
"We cannot do without these face-to-face services altogether but in the end, for the vast majority of current visits to service points, I believe the new proposals will provide more people with better service, more conveniently, for more opening hours and with each visit dealt with more quickly.
"I recognise it’s a change, and indeed, a challenge to some folk, but people - especially older people, are much smarter than we give them credit for."