Norwich Council admits it doesn’t know if it even reads letters you send it

In May, we reported on the disturbing difficulty residents were facing in contacting the council. We discovered that in just one month, almost 3500 calls to the council had to use the call-back service after not getting through, that’s 43% of all calls.

People were being left, paying by the minute, in waiting queues of up to an hour, and if you needed a face-to-face appointment - good luck! Only 49 were offered in the whole of December. We had heard anecdotally from residents all over Norwich that letters they had sent to the council had gone unanswered, often involving important subject matters like parking fines and council tax payments.

To address this, our University Lib Dem spokesperson James Hawketts went to the city cabinet to ask a public question about this, warning Labour of the risks to the elderly and digitally excluded by ignoring traditional communication. He asked how many letters had been received and acted upon in the last six months.

To his shock, they admitted they don’t even bother tracking letters in and out of the council! What a comfort to the people who need their help… If you’re facing trouble getting in contact with the council or accessing their services, let us know. We’ll try our best to get your voice heard. 

See the council meeting playback of the question here: