Ipswich Borough Council has announced plans to develop a customer contact centre.
The centre, to be staffed by specialist customer service teams, will enable people to pay their bills or enquire about benefits from one central location.
It is thought that the centralising of services will save the council £1.5 million over the next three years and help it to solve people’s queries faster.
The plans were announced after the council entered into a three-year partnership with Northgate Public Services in a bid to simplify how it communicates with local people.
It is hoped that the partnership deal will also enable the council to improve through listening to what local people have to say about its services. Northgate will only get paid when it meets its agreed financial and improvement targets.
Terry Hayward, head of community and customer services at Ipswich Borough Council, said: “For the first time, local people will be able to raise questions and resolve their concerns through a single point of contact with council staff.”
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