One in five callers abandon calls to council contact centre

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter 

More than 8,000 people gave up waiting for a council to answer their calls in just three months, new figures have revealed.

The figures for Newport City Council show around one in five calls to its main customer contact line were abandoned between April and June, prompting criticism from opposition councillors.

Nearly 30% of calls to the dedicated council tax line were abandoned before being answered, in the same three months.

Of the 49 calls made to the council’s Welsh-language line between April and June, 21 were abandoned, figures on the council’s website show.

“People across Newport are paying through the nose in council tax, yet more than 8,000 callers put the phone down in pure frustration in just three months,” said Conservative councillor William Routley.

“That isn’t just a grim statistic – it’s an elderly resident desperate to sort their bins, or a family worried sick over their bills who simply cannot get through,” he added.

Newport City Council was approached for comment.

Cllr Routley said contact centre staff were “doing their best” but had been left “completely stranded” because the local authority had not provided more staff, despite a scrutiny committee calling for reinforcements.

He claimed the Labour-controlled council had “stuck the warning on a shelf, marked it red, and looked the other way while residents sit listening to hold music”.

A council report shows a response to the committee’s recommendations is ‘outstanding’.

Cllr Mark Howells, an independent from Lliswerry, said: “As chair of the committee responsible for this, I raised concerns about resourcing in customer services some time ago, so it’s disappointing to see this recommendation still marked as ‘outstanding’.

“Scrutiny will be receiving a further customer services update in the coming weeks, and I would hope to see meaningful progress reflected in that report. Residents deserve a contact centre that is properly resourced to meet demand.”

Liberal Democrat councillor Carmel Townsend added: “Newport Council cannot simply ignore this issue or hope it goes away. Councils are there to serve the people, not the other way around.”

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