CONCERNS have been raised after more than 19,000 calls to West Dunbartonshire Council went unanswered last year.

The closure of buildings meant that residents who needed to contact the council either had to do it online or by telephone, but during 2020 a total of 19,590 calls were abandoned.

Up till August, 7,411 calls had been abandoned this year – representing 15 per cent of the total calls.

Councillor Martin Rooney, leader of the authority’s Labour opposition group, said: “Our residents are becoming frustrated and are beginning to question why the council is unable to open up its services when others are.

“Many of our citizens will simply miss out on access to council services as the doors are closed and the calls for help are not always answered.”

Council leader Jonathan McColl said: “Our staff have been working under difficult conditions to provide the best possible service to residents throughout the pandemic and I believe that the public understand, respect and appreciate their efforts.

“It’s quite obvious that services cannot run at peak efficiency during a pandemic with staff working from home, unwell themselves or caring for family members.

“As the council leader I could not ask for more from our staff. They have gone above and beyond to keep things running as well as possible and deliver the lifeline services people need.

“We will see a marked improvement in performance across council services in the coming months as things get back to normal and staff have proper access to the facilities and tools they need.”

Malcolm Bennie, chief officer for citizen services, added: “Since April 2021, residents have waited an average of three minutes for their call to be answered by the council contact centre.

“While that is longer than in pre-Covid-19 times it still represents a reasonable level of service given the challenges of running council services during a pandemic.

“Some residents may choose not to wait and call back later when it is quieter or submit their request online, and this creates abandoned calls.

“I remain confident our residents are still being supported because our team is answering 8,000 calls per month.”