Major plans are under way to reduce waiting times at West Dunbartonshire Council’s telephone contact centre.

The changes are included in a range of proposals which will also introduce web chat, promote more convenient ways to pay the council and join up one stop shop services with the local library.

The council says the proposals are aimed to respond to the current levels of demand from residents by providing more capacity at peak times, such as lunchtimes.

It says the changes would make the service as efficient as possible.

The report to the corporate services committee – which meets on November 29 – outlines how the telephone contact centre receives more than 200,000 calls a year but is currently open early morning and late afternoon when demand from residents is reduced.

Under the plans for discussion, opening times would typically be 9am – 4.30pm, with more employees on hand to take calls between 12 and 2pm when a quarter of calls are received.

Under the plans, cash and card payments currently taken at the two One Stop Shops would be transferred to the area’s 85 PayPoint machines and post offices where West Dunbartonshire residents already undertake thousands of cash transactions every year for utility bills, mobile phone charges and TV licences.

In addition, the team based at the One Stop Shop in Mitchell Way would relocate to Alexandria Library, where visitors can also take advantage of book loans, use the computers, access free wi-fi, and informally receive Macmillan Cancer Support.

The proposal would also see the Welfare Fund team, which assists with crisis grants to vulnerable residents, stop delivering a service at weekends when just two per cent of applications are made and instead provide extra staffing Monday to Friday.

The council says changes across the team, including an extra employee joining the telephone contact centre, would help reduce waiting times. The savings from the smaller team would also help fund the introduction of a web chat facility on the website to respond to demand..

Malcolm Bennie, strategic lead for communications culture and communities, said: “This proposal has been developed to meet the demands from our residents for shorter waiting times on the phone and more modern and responsive assistance like web chat. It also aims to support residents to make payments to the council in more convenient locations for them and at more convenient opening times. If introduced, our service would still provide the face-to-face support that our residents need, and we would be able to deliver telephone support with shorter delays and at less cost. It is now up to councillors to decide if it is the right approach to take.”