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Customer Service Delays

We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls to our Contact Centre and requests to our Council Tax Teams -  in part due to the cost of living crisis, the £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate, local elections, allocation of school places and the administration of the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

Both teams are currently prioritising supporting the most vulnerable, the processing of the £150 energy rebate to 114,000 households  and those in need of help and support from our Emergency Limited Assistance Scheme (ELAS). 

As at Thursday 28th April the teams have processed the £150 Energy Rebate to 45,256 households (in Council Tax Bands A – D). These payments are being made to  households that have paid Council Tax by Direct Debit where the instalment was paid between 1st – 18th April.  For those whose direct debit is paid from 19th to the 28th April their rebate will be paid by mid-May.  For households in Bands A to D that do not pay by direct debit, we will be writing to them around 6th May to collect information from them that will enable us to process their rebate over the coming months. 

We appreciate that the current response times will be frustrating for people trying to contact the Council, so we have taken steps to recruit and train additional staff, and our staff are working extra hours to help meet the demand. We would encourage people to use online processes wherever possible. 

Temporary Contact Centre Opening Hour Changes

The Contact Centre is currently operating temporarily with adjusted opening times.

These will be reviewed weekly as we manage staffing levels that are being impacted by Covid-19.

Our current opening hours are as follows for the Contact Centre phoneline 0345 140 0845 and for responding to social media and online queries:

Monday to Thursday – 9am to 5.30pm
Fridays – 9am to 5pm

Virtual Contact Centre

Our incredibly hard-working colleagues in the Contact Centre have now moved to a Virtual Contact Centre model, allowing them to work safely and efficiently from their homes during the Covid-19 situation.

The new system has now been successfully implemented and our staff are working hard to answer your queries as efficiently as possible.

The team will continue to concentrate its focus on the more vulnerable members of our community.

We are also experiencing an extremely high volume of calls to our Contact Centre. If you call, you may face long delays. There are alternative ways for you to get information:

• Stay up to date with changes to council services at our Community updates webpage;
• Volunteer to help vulnerable residents in Sefton here;
• Access a range of Council services online. 

If you still need to get in touch? Why not try these options first...

• Make an online payment;
• Request a bulky item collection;
• Report a street sweeping complaint;
• Report dog fouling;
• Report fly tipping; 
• Report a broken street light;
• Report an abandoned vehicle;
• Have your say on a consultation; 
• Making a planning enforcement complaint
• Report anti-social behaviour

Not found what you're looking for? Try searching our online services. 

Alternatively, you can: 

• Use our online contact form - we aim to respond to your query within 10 working days;
• Send us a Tweet or a DM on our Sefton Council Twitter Page;
• Chat to us via Web Chat;
• Contact your local Councillor;
• Provide feedback or make a complaint online. 

One Stop Shops

Sefton Council has two One Stop Shops located within the borough dealing with a range of face to face enquiries for many of our Council Services.

Bootle One Stop Shop located on 324 Stanley Road, Bootle, L20 3ET

Southport One Stop Shop located within The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport, PR8 1DB

However due to Covid-19 we have had to make some temporary changes to the level of service we can offer during this time.

Bootle One Stop Shop is open by appointment only during the hours of 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Southport One Stop Shop recently relocated from Cambridge Arcade to The Atkinson and is also open by appointment only during the hours of 11am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.

If you require an appointment for either One Stop Shop please contact our Contact Centre on 0345 140 0845.

Visiting our One Stop Shops & Accessibility

As our One Stop Shops currently offer an ‘appointment only’ facility Monday to Friday, our Customer Service Advisors will ring you to schedule your appointment and assess your needs before arrival.

Both One Stop Shops are:

• Wheelchair accessible and we have staff available to assist customers to their appointment when they arrive, should they require it.  
• Have a loop hearing system for people who are hearing impaired
• Can offer a private interview room; however, this needs to be requested in advance of your interview.
• Have an interpreter service available for customers where English is not their first language.

Enquiries

If you are a member of the public who has an enquiry about a Sefton Council service, please use our contact form.

Alternatively you can email contact@sefton.gov.uk

All media enquiries, including those for Cabinet Members, must be sent to the Council’s Communications Team, who will organise any responses.

Content on our MySefton News Website is available for use by journalists and other media.

Videos can be downloaded from Sefton Council’s YouTube channel.

If you require files, including photographs, to be sent to you in any other way, please contact the Communications Team.

Contacts

Downloads

Customer Services Defra Initiative Privacy Notice Final	(pdf 72KB)
Customer Services Privacy Notice	(pdf 493KB)