Access to housing and support services in Skegness 'to be maintained'

Customers are being reassured access to housing and support services in Skegness will be maintained following East Lindsey District Council's move to Horncastle.
Skegness Town Hall.Skegness Town Hall.
Skegness Town Hall.

ELDC’s Executive Board approved plans to change public access to services when they met at their current headquaretrs Tedder Hall in Manby on Wednesday.

Work got underway in May on a Public Sector Hub in Horncastle adjacent to an education facility, operated by Boston College, that will be the new home to East Lindsey District Council and partner organisations.

The latest proposals are intended to ‘improve and diversify’ the way in which East Lindsey residents access district council services

The new arrangements will replace ELDC's Customer Access Points, including at Skegness Town Hall, which have been closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is claimed that the new arrangements, which will replace ELDC’s Customer Access Points that have been closed since the start of the pandemic, are focused on “providing a wider array of flexible options for residents, and reflect the changes in customer habits that have occurred since the pandemic started in March 2020”.

An East Lindsey District Council statement published after the meeting last night said the new arrangements will include:

• A community hub/drop-in model which will see specific council services regularly attending towns across East Lindsey to allow residents direct face-to-face access to services.

• Increased call centre capacity to accommodate the growing number of residents accessing council services via telephone.

• Ensuring a greater number of forms and services are accessible through the Council’s website, to support the increasing number of residents who access their services online.

• Developing a programme of review that ensure web and telephone options are accessible and meet customers’ needs and expectations.

Councillor Graham Marsh, Portfolio Holder for Partnerships and Deputy Leader of the Council, said: “Within the report approved by Executive Board there is a commitment to implementing appointment-based access to Housing and Support services in Skegness, recognising the need and demand for this within the town.

"We are in the process of working with our partners and communities to shape our new model to ensure that it meets the needs of our customers, and will look to implement it in due course.

"Our Public Sector Hub in Horncastle will operate in the same way as our current offices at Tedder Hall, serving as a reception for Council teams based there.”

Coun Marsh explained the Covid-19 pandemic forced a change in how customers accessed our services.

"We want to ensure that, as we emerge from restrictions and towards a level of normality, the way we serve our customers reflects those changes and is fit for the future," he said.

“Increased capacity within our call centre and across our digital channels will provide support for the ways many customers are now accessing our more transactional services.

“Separately to this, we are also ensuring continued provision and support for more vulnerable residents; recognising that there are some situations and services where there is no substitute for face to face support.

“Our revised model is more flexible and our proposals include reinvestment in front line services to ensure we can support residents appropriately across the District – including holding sessions in communities to ensure face to face provision remains available and accessible - and we will continuously review the accessibility of our services. We will work with our local communities and community groups to develop a revised model that meets customers’ needs.”

• The full report can be read online by visiting www.e-lindsey.gov.uk/Council and navigating to the relevant meeting (July 7) and viewing the associated documents.