Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Customer Services presented the report of the Director: Communities, Customer and Commercial Services.

The report provided a mid-point update to the Customer Strategy which launched in January 2021 and the launch of the new Town and Parish Council / Borough Council Partnership agreement.

A range of actions to improve and develop customers’ experiences when engaging with Council services had been implemented, which included:

·         A new digital assistant ‘Ask-Tom’, which was able to respond 24/7 to the most frequently asked customer questions;

·         Extended opening hours for the corporate contact centre to 8am – 7pm;

·         Introduction of customer satisfaction surveys; and

·         The launch of the ‘My Telford’ app which had been downloaded by over 6,100 individuals.

Cabinet Members praised officers for their hard work and noted that the recently completed peer review had stated that officers went above and beyond regularly. Cabinet Members stated that it was important that all channels were open for residents to feedback and the many different ways that residents communicated with the Council showed how valuable these were.

RESOLVED that:

a)    The update to the Customer Strategy, which noted the progress delivered to date be approved and the refreshed action plan through to 2024 be endorsed;

b)   Authority be delegated to the Director: Communities, Customer and Commercial Services in consultation with the Lead Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Customer Services to take the necessary steps to implement these recommendations; and

c)    The new Town & Parish Council / Borough Council Partnership Agreement and pledges be approved.