New online services help people access council benefit

Council Leader Rhondda Geekie explained, “We are aware that many of our residents are not able to come in to one of our Community Hubs or telephone the Contact Centre during office hours. Through Benefits Online, our customers can apply for Council Tax Reduction, apply for Housing Benefit and tell us about any changes in their circumstances 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Benefits Online can be found at www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/benefitsonline and residents will need the following information to use the service: National Insurance Number, Council Tax Account Number, details of all the people in their household, details of their landlord and details of all the income and savings in the household.

The Benefits Team will then check the online claim and let the applicant know what evidence they will need to send. Further information is available on the Council website www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/benefitsonline Councillor Geekie added: “Last year we launched Council Tax online, which lets residents pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit, view and check their Council Tax account and report a change of address. These online services offer customers the opportunity to engage with the Council at a time that is most convenient to them.”

To register with Council Tax online, residents should visit www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk/counciltaxonline and they will need their Council Tax reference number and their online key – both of which can be found in the top right hand corner of their current bill. Bills for 2017/18 are being issued form this week.