A new online service has been launched on Cumbria County Council's website www.cumbria.gov.uk to give handy answers to the questions the council is asked most often.
The new FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) system has the answers to 1,145 different questions already posed by members of the public.
Cumbria County Council's customer contact centre (01228 606060) has been operational since the beginning of April this year. On average it receives 3,600 calls per week - many of them are for information already asked for by other people.
It's hoped the FAQs part of the website can become a handy one-stop shop for people wanting to find out some of the most obvious things about the council. Many of the queries the council receives are about services provided by other organisations and the FAQs also give advice on the appropriate people to contact.
The top five FAQs the county council receives are:
1. Can I speak to someone about my student application? (971 times) 2. Where can I get a blue badge disabled parking permit? (422) 3. How do I apply for school transport? (259) 4. Who can help me with queries about school admissions? (157) 5. I know someone who needs help, what can social services do for them? (150)
Children's services is the most popular area for questions, accounting for 418 of the 1,145 FAQs. Other common areas include highways issues and household waste collection. The service will also provide information on a range of broad topics such as where to find public internet access in Cumbria to applying for British Citizenship. The next stage of improvements for the council's web-based service will be to increase the amount of council services that can be applied for online.
Cllr Gary Strong, Cabinet member responsible for community development, said:
"This new service means that people can get the answer to their questions 24 hours a day. It's simple, easy to use and points you in the right direction for a remarkable range of issues. This will enhance our telephone-based customer contact centre based in Carlisle to offer a full range of customer support."
ENDS
Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 606332
Follow this link to visit the FAQs part of the website