Customers
Home, But Not Alone
The Home, But Not Alone free phoneline has reopened, in response to England's second national lockdown. The helpline is in place to support clinically extremely vulnerable people who may need additional information or support. The helpline also places vulnerable people in contact with local networks or community organisations who may be able to help.
The telephone number is 0800 876 6926 and the service will be staffed from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
We urgently request people to observe Government advice and social distancing practices.
We have put in place a number of measures to protect the public and our staff and restrict the spread of Covid-19. We are doing everything possible to keep essential services running.
This includes several closures until further notice:
- Customer Access Points in Ipswich Street, Stowmarket and Sudbury Town Hall have closed for ‘face to face’ enquiries and visits. Residents with council enquiries are now asked to go online wherever possible. If customers can’t resolve their query on our website, they should email us.
- Pop-up customer access points in Hadleigh and Shotley
- Our council-owned leisure centres:
In Babergh - Hadleigh Pool and Leisure and Kingfisher Leisure Centre. Find more details on Abbeycroft Leisure's website
In Mid Suffolk - Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre and Stradbroke Pool and Fitness Centre. Find more details on Everyone Active's website
Support for customers facing financial hardship:
- Find our support for households struggling to pay their council tax bills during COVID 19
- Find out how to claim a £500 support payment if you are a low-income earner told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace
- Further help is available from the Suffolk Support and Advice Service – helping people across the county access information and support relating to debt, benefits, housing or employment. You can contact service on 0800 068 3131 between 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday or visit Suffolk Support and Advice Service
Further changes to our services are as follows:
- Playgrounds and play parks remain open, but users are asked to follow Government guidance and to come back later if it looks busy
- Our garden waste (brown bin) collections are planned to restart from 8 March following a period of essential stoppage. Find further information about waste collections during COVID-19
- All our ticketed car parks now have MiPermit to allow for cashless payments
- We are holding virtual council meetings
- Customers are encouraged to make payments online only, as we are currently unable to process post/scanning. Find further information for making payments
- Repairs to our council houses are now absolutely essential items only until further notice
- Non-essential street cleansing and ground maintenance have been paused to help prioritise critical services