Local authorities

Local authorities are responsible for delivering a wide range of services that are vital to the daily life of the entire nation, both in the major cities and in the regions. These important activities include essential services as well as cultural and economic development. It is critical for local authorities to reach out to all citizens, and especially to include those ethnic communities which in some authorities now constitute a majority of the population. Local authority staff meet the public in a very wide variety of contexts, on the telephone, in the office, on the street and in people’s homes and businesses. In all these situations, staff need to communicate clearly about services that directly affect the quality of life of their customers, including:

• Housing,
• Transport,
• Education,
• Welfare,
• Health and
• Environmental services.

In the nine regions of England, including London, there are 149 local authorities that carry out these responsibilities. There is a tremendous diversity in the composition of these authorities and the challenges that they face. The 33 boroughs of London cover an area of about 1500 km2 and comprise nearly 7.5 million people, whereas the 15 authorities of the South West cover nearly 24,000 km2 with 5 million people. There are vibrant ethnic communities in many authorities from the South East to the North West, and in some London boroughs such as Newham the ethnic community comprises over 60% of the population.

Lattice Voice can assist the staff of local authorities to engage with their customers in all of their diverse activities, especially in the context of local ethnic minority communities. For example, when a customer with limited English capability is telephoning the local officer to discuss a problem with their application for social housing, Lattice Voice can help to ensure that the customer’s views are understood and that the customer fully appreciates the formal requirements and process. The system enables them to communicate in their own first languages, including the translation of statutory forms and processes. Such facilities not only improve efficiencies at the local authority, but also gives the non-English speaking customer a better level of satisfaction that their situation is being handled in an appropriate way. Similarly, when customers need to visit the environmental health officer to discuss a local problem with waste collection or anti-social behaviour, Lattice Voice can help them to communicate across the desk of the interview room, to ensure that the incident is reported correctly, and the resulting actions and responsibilities are properly understood by all parties. When local authority engineers are working on routine or emergency jobs, such as road improvement schemes or maintenance to essential services, Lattice Voice embedded in mobile devices can help to improve communications with local residents, so that they understand the timeframe and consequences of the job, and appreciate the work that’s being done.