An independent review by industry experts of Falkirk Council’s website has found that it is one of the best in in the UK for helping local residents get the best from Council services.

www.falkirk.gov.uk was given the top rating of four stars recently by the Society of Information Technology Managers (SOCiTM) and joins another 37 from across the UK (from more than 400) with the highest ranking.

Websites were surveyed over a number of areas including the websites accessibility to those with disabilities; how easy it is for residents to find important online services and transactions; how easy the site is to search; how quick and easy a customer journey is; how easy it is to use the website on a mobile device.

www.falkirk.gov.uk receives more than 5 million visits per year with more than 70% of that coming from mobile devices.

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, Leader of Falkirk Council said: “Our website is a very important tool for residents, and reflects how in a digital society people  want to interact with our easily accessible on services online saving them time and money. It is therefore really important that it is running to the highest standards possible.

“The more services we can offer online means the greater savings we can achieve.

“We will continually need to keep our standards high to maintain this status and are always looking at new ways the website can help us deliver our services in the future.”

A wide range of services can now be accessed on the Council’s website which allows the public to request Falkirk Council services online using their smartphones any day of the week and when it’s most convenient for them.

The My Falkirk service is also available which allows customers to create a secure personal account to manage their requests. This means they can self-serve online without having to phone or visit an office and also see a record of their accounts and bills and other contacts with the Council. More than 14,000 have individual accounts with My Falkirk – it’s free to sign up, saves subscribers time and makes it easier to pay and report anything.