Dundee council reverses position on drop-in appointments
Following criticism of its failure to offer drop-in appointments for members of the public with service requests and complaints, Dundee City Council has rowed back from its “no drop-in appointments” position. A trial drop-in service will be offered on Tuesday afternoons at Dundee Box Office where members of the public will be able to speak with a council officer about a problem or service request without an appointment.
This follows criticism by both Dundee Federation of Housing Associations (DFTA) and Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Fraser Macpherson who both felt that lack of drop-in facilities was having an adverse impact on the digitally excluded and that the appointments booking system was not working well. Councillor Macpherson pointed out that this affects older tenants in particular and that Dundee Pensioners’ Forum had similar concerns to DFTA.
Councillor Macpherson said:
“An appointment only service had been in operation for Dundee House since December 2019. This service was reduced by the council to just two half days per week from April 2023. We all appreciate the financial challenges facing the council which led to the decision to reduce face to face interview opportunities for the Dundee public. However, it’s important to change things if there are problems.”
“I have had constituents regularly complain about problems getting to speak with the right council officer on the phone about issues, particularly housing matters like repairs. I was unconvinced that the booked appointments system was really working that well and DFTA had also raised a formal complaint with the council about these very issues."
“I met with DFTA at its latest committee meeting on 18th July to discuss our concerns about public access. That day, we checked the appointments booking system and the earliest you got actually get an appointment was 15th August – nearly a month to wait to get an appointment, which is totally unacceptable."
“I therefore wrote to the Chief Executive stating that there was a need for the council to review its position and offer a drop-in appointments service. To his credit, the Chief Executive has responded with a trial drop-in service offer for simpler queries like handing in evidence for things like a council tax issue or benefits application – and this will start in the near future.”
“To be honest, it is a very limited service on Tuesday afternoons and only a trial – not exactly everything I was looking for – but it’s a start and a positive step forward. What is now vital is that this drop-in service is well-publicised with the Dundee public. No-one is going to use it if the council fails to promote it.”
Council Chief Executive Greg Colgan wrote to Councillor Macpherson :
“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 on Tuesdays’ (2.30 pm - 4.30 pm) to deal with this for a trial period of 6-12 weeks. Officers will keep this under review during the review period. This change will increase the number of appointments available for more complex enquiries.”
“In terms of engagement with Housing, the service has been discussing its approach with the DFTA and have agreed that we should develop a communication with them to share with tenants that demonstrates how we can take our services to tenants' homes and into communities meaning they don't need to come to a Housing office. We are drafting a communication that gives more detail about the role of the Tenancy and Estate Team and the different drops ins that they chair or attend in communities. However, we acknowledge that some tenants will prefer a face-to-face appointment and officers are committed to meeting with tenants in community facilities near to their home, if meeting in their home is not suitable.”
Councillor Macpherson concluded:
“I had said to the Chief Executive that ideally a drop-in appointment service at Dundee House and the two district housing offices, on a regular basis in addition to appointment system, was needed. The offer of a trial drop-in service is a step forward but I have said to Mr Colgan that it must be well-publicised to the Dundee public or people will simply not know it exists.”
“In my view, the council has to work harder at its engagement with the people of Dundee. 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.”
“Given restricted public access, there’s now a wider issue about the use of council offices. With staff working in a more flexible way since the COVID pandemic – many home working or hybrid working – and the loss of public access to Dundee House, I think walking round the place, it is more than half empty most of the time, a bit like visiting the Marie Celeste.”
“The council is now renting this huge building having sold its interest in it to a Canadian insurance firm in 2019. have therefore also asked the council Chief Executive what the property strategy is because renting a less than half full building makes no sense whatsoever.”