Our Design Principles

We will always start at the beginning; aiming to understand the needs of the user first before ensuring that service needs are met.

We won’t simply try to turn an offline process into an online one.

Users will be able to report, pay for, and view information about our services without the need to create a log in.

Where a login is required we will use single sign-on so users do not have to manage multiple user IDs and passwords.

Payments will be simple and immediate. Card payments and Direct Debit will be offered as our preferred payment method for all transactions.

Where there is a legal or regulatory requirement to accept cash we will, but we will be clear that these options come with additional constraints: time, cost or validation.

We will never accept cheques, except where the option is explicitly set out in legislation.

Face to face meetings will only be offered where there is a defined need or legal requirement to do so; whether in a council building, customer’s home or at an offsite location.

Any appointments will need to be made in advance, and we will triage all appointments to ensure they are necessary and cannot be managed through other means.

Appointments will not be a way to fast track a transaction.

Users that cannot access our website will still be able to access our services.

Those with the means, but not the skills, will be supported in the completion of digital transactions or access to services.

Not wanting to engage with the council digitally is not the same as not being able to engage digitally.

We’ll only ask for the minimum information we need to complete a transaction, and use information we have about users to prefill form fields, helping users to complete transactions quickly and accurately.

Our forms will intelligently display or hide questions based on previous answers to keep them relevant.

If users choose a different contact method we will encourage them back to the website.

All communication will direct users to the website. We will not actively promote telephone numbers or email addresses.