Dundee City Council is set to trial face-to-face drop-in services in a bid to tackle month long waits for online appointments.
Face-to-face drop-in services will be offered to the public on Tuesday afternoons, where locals can speak with a council officer about a problem or service request without an appointment.
The service will allow locals to submit documents for benefit applications, council tax and non-domestic rates.
However locals still won’t be able to conduct “general” inquiries or cash transactions such as rent or parking fines, though these services will continue to be carried out at post offices or online.
Councillor Fraser Macpherson said: “For many, online facilities for interacting about council services work fine but they do not work for everyone, particularly older folk who often do not use online services.
“Being able to easily have a face-to-face meeting with a council officer is not an unreasonable expectation and I expect the council to provide that.”
The availability of the drop-in will be limited, with the service only operating at the box office in City Square from 2.30pm till 4.30pm.
Wait times for online appointments close to a month
The trial comes just four months after walk-in face-to-face appointments were scrapped at Dundee House, the East District Housing Office on Pitkerro Road and the West District Housing Office in Lochee.
The moved proved to be controversial at the time, with locals branding the change as “disgraceful.”
Appointment times have also been an issue for Dundonians, with waiting times being close to a month for people to be seen.
Council Chief Executive Greg Colgan said; “I accept the current situation of not being able to get an appointment until mid-August is not ideal, this is not the norm and generally appointment times are available within 10 working days.
“To mitigate the need for customers to book a 15-minute appointment only to hand in evidence and have it photocopied/scanned, I will have a member of staff available in the Box Office.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson added: “The trial for the handing in of documents will look at how this approach can increase the number of appointments available for more complex enquiries.”
