Council should learn from Leeds' Call Centres, say Lib Dems

9.55.45pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 26th Apr 2004

Liberal Democrats will be putting a White Paper Motion to Wednesday's full meeting of Leeds City Council expressing concern at the level of service provided to citizens of Leeds by the Council's own Call Centre.

Councillor Stewart Golton, Deputy Leader of the Opposition Liberal Democrat Group on Leeds City Council, has tabled the motion.

Cllr Golton said "We are fortunate in Leeds to have some of the finest call centre staff in the country. We have built up a well-deserved reputation as a centre of excellence for the industry, and we should be very proud of that."

"It must be all the more frustrating for Leeds citizens that the Council's own Call Centre provision doesn't match up to the standards provided by the private sector. Liberal Democrats want to see a revolution in how the Council is run. Our first priority is to ensure that dedicated Council Staff can provide efficient services at the point of need through better communication with the rate-payers of this City."

"If you look in the phone book there are hundreds of different numbers under 'Leeds City Council'. People can't track down the Department they need to speak to and get passed from one person to the next, or get no reply at all. I want to see a 'single number' system where people will be able to telephone a central number, and well-trained staff will then be able to direct callers to the relevant department. People in Leeds should be able to contact the Council 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."