THURROCK Council is being congratulated for receiving the SOCITM 2017 award for Citizen Engagement.
It is awarded in recognition of authorities who have created programmes presenting examples of outstanding levels of citizen engagement and are able to demonstrate how these have created value for stakeholders in their communities.
The award was presented at SOCITM’s 2017 annual conference earlier this month (Monday 9 October).
Portfolio Holder for Performance and Central Services, Cllr Deb Huelin, said: “I am so proud of how far Thurrock has come in terms of engaging residents and supporting them through digital means.
“Thurrock Council started its Thurrock-On-Line programme to deliver a new website and self-service portal to meet the changing needs of our residents.
“I would say that it is one of the fastest growing areas of transformation people will have seen in terms of the Council.
“But what I’m probably most proud of is that our journey is not over.
“We are offering more and more services online – meaning people to interact with the council when it suits them, no longer being restricted to office opening times or contact centre hours.
“Currently we have nearly 61,000 registered users for our online services, of which over 22,000 are registered for the Council Tax Service and enjoy the benefits of managing their account online and receiving paperless billing.
“There is still plenty more to come, so don’t miss out – register today by visiting thurrock.gov.uk/account
“Well done to the teams who continue to keep resident experience their top priority – thank you.”
