People and communities
Walsall Connected offers localised support for accessing council services
Published on
Residents will be able to get help to access and navigate council services locally.
Walsall Council, in collaboration with a network of local Trusted Partners, is launching a brand new offer for residents to help them to access and navigate council services locally.
The Walsall Connected project has been developed to ensure that residents that feel digitally excluded or have a disability that makes it harder for them to access on-line services independently, can get support to access first line council advice or information in a venue near to them and to also be supported to gain essential digital skills.
The support will be available across the borough and will be provided by trained staff and volunteers based at Libraries and Community Associations. Supporting residents with gaining digital skills will enable them to have access to support and services more flexibly as well as helping build valuable skills for the future.
“ Walsall Connected is our way of supporting local residents to develop the skills they need to access support, information and advice. Once they have had training and feel confident with accessing services and knowing where to find information and self-serve, they have the flexibility to access services at a venue local to them and/or 24 hours a day, and seven days a week, from the comfort of their own home.”
Walsall Connected is already available in the Lichfield Street Hub in Walsall Town Centre, however feedback from our Resident’s survey in 2021 is that vulnerable and elderly residents would overwhelmingly prefer to access advice and digital support in locations closer to their own homes, to keep travelling time and transport costs down.
We already offer free wifi, and free access to public computers, in all seven of our Library buildings which provide residents with safe, welcoming, and accessible community spaces, to relax, learn and access digital services. In the coming months, the Walsall Connected project, will help to grow the levels of support in a range of local venues, and help to connect residents to other people living locally”
This offer is part of our wider response to COVID-19 where we aim to offer support in a more localised way and build resilience within our local communities. “
Offering digital access to services has worked successfully with the delivery of the government’s Energy Rebate Scheme, which has already supported 85,410 households in Walsall. To date 5% (4437 of customers) have accessed support through the Council’s telephone lines, 1% (1174) have accessed face to face support via Libraries and Community Associations and the remaining 94% have all received payments through a Digital access route.
The council is committed to supporting digitally excluded and disabled residents to be able to receive digital assistance via the Walsall Connected network however the uptake levels of the new digital process clearly demonstrates that most residents want to be able to access Council services through digital pathways.
Further details about how to access the support can be found on the council’s website.
Information about this project and how residents in the borough can access the support will also be made available within the locality venues and to professionals and partners working with residents that can potentially benefit.
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