HWRC Call-Handling Service

As result of the COVID-19 situation the HWRC service had to be closed on the 24 March 2020 in line with Government rules to prevent the spread of the virus. On the 11 May, following instruction by the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government, all 26 sites were re-opened with demand high from the outset and increasing significantly after the first 7 days of operation.

Significant traffic management was rolled out at all sites however significant queues resulted which had a significant impact on both other road users and businesses trying to get up and running following the lockdown. There are also a number of sites where the traffic queues presented a danger to the other road users with people undertaking dangerous manoeuvres to avoid the queues.

As a result, a booking system was introduced for residents to use to access an HWRC and control the number of people that can use a site with each having a 30 minute window and those without a booking being turned away. This contract was required in order to provide a call handling service to run alongside the introduction of the booking system for the HWRC service.

Having undertaken an Equalities Impact Assessment for the introduction of the service it showed that there could be a negative impact for two of the characteristics 'Age' and 'Poverty' placing residents at a disadvantage where they might not be able to access the internet therefore preventing them from being able to access the HWRC service. Due to the speed at which the system was introduced, it was critical that this service was in place and the County Council did not have the ability to immediately accommodate this in-house.

Angel Call Handling were identified as being a Hampshire based, SME supplier who would be able to deliver the required interim service at very short notice and a flexible basis that would minimise the cost but monitoring call volumes and flexing the payment approach to suit the volume. This is an interim measure whilst a compliant procurement is conducted.