Council recommended to stick with 0845 number

Posted by The Journal on May 25, 09 03:42 PM in Councils

Bosses at Northumberland's new super council are being recommended to stick with its controversial 0845 single telephone number.

County hall chiefs have been urged by campaigners both locally and nationally to change the 0845 6006400 number, which has been provided since April 1 for all people who need to contact the unitary authority.

One former councillor has made a formal complaint that the authority is failing to comply with guidance from regulator Ofcom that public bodies should not use 08 numbers because of how much it costs people to ring them.

Northumbria Police changed its non-emergency number from 0845 to 03456 after only a year because it was cheaper for people to call, and national campaigners have urged the county council to follow suit.

But now County Hall officers are recommending that the council should stick with the 0845 number until the emerging position on charging becomes clearer and review the situation in a year's time.

A report to a council scrutiny committee next week says, on balance, it is felt the 0845 number provides a 'sound option' for customers and the council alike.

In the meantime, the council is also being urged to provide an alternative single geographic number on its website for any callers who want to use it.

Telephone numbers beginning 084 and 087 are used by many businesses and organisations providing a wide range of services, but calls are generally more expensive than to 01 or 02 geographical numbers, and those starting 03.

Calls to the county council number from mobiles cost between 8.5p and 20p per minute, depending on the network.

In a report to next week's communities and place overview and scrutiny committee, the council's head of customer services, Chris Philips, says there are a number of reasons for staying with the 0845 number.

There is no cost to the council in using it, switching to an 03 number would mean an additional £38,000 a year bill for the authority, calls to 0845 are free for BT customers and changing the number would create 'public confusion'.

Mr Philips says other than providing a free phone service for all callers - which would cost the council £144,000 a year and growing as the usage increased - some variations in call charging for customers is inevitable.

"Many customers have free calls to 0845 as part of their call package and others face broadly acceptable charges," he adds.

Mr Philips says there is a risk that the 0845 number will become chargeable for the council at some point in the future, and any decision on whether to change it should wait until the situation becomes clearer.

Yesterday former Blyth Valley Labour councillor Bob Watson - who has complained to Ofcom about the 0845 number - said he has been invited by the chairman to speak at next week's scrutiny meeting.

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