West Oxfordshire and Cotswold district councils will consider cutting back the number of hours residents can get in touch by phone.
A report by West Oxfordshire celebrated a ‘successful’ trial that saw both local authorities operate their customer services phone lines from 9am and 2pm rather than staying open until 5pm.
It highlighted a 350% surge in the use of digital channels to contact both councils between 2021 and 2023 – from around 33,000 to 115,000.
Over the same period, the volume of calls fell by 37%, from 230,000 to 144,000.
The change would enable staff to be hired for shorter days, saving each council £125,000 a year, the report said.
Calls would still be taken between 2pm and 5pm if they related to reports of dangerous structures, homelessness support, or support for residents in the lead-up to an election.
Any permanent changes will have to be agreed by both councils, which run their customer services through jointly-owned Publica.
