A new online platform has been launched which will make it easier for East Lothian residents to request a service or make a payment.
myeastlothian will initially enable people requiring new recycling boxes, caddies, covers or food waste liners to place an online order.
The platform can be accessed from the council’s website and it saves customers having to make a telephone call or send an email request.
In the months ahead, more forms and services will be added to myeastlothian, helping to deliver enhanced and increasingly reliable experiences for customers. Some services will be available online for the first time while others will replace and improve upon existing forms available on the council website.
Its introduction will help the council process requests more efficiently and effectively and pave the way for future expansion of online services.
Sharon Saunders, Head of Communities, said:
“This is an exciting development in the council’s digital transformation agenda which will make it easier and faster for the people of East Lothian to make a request, report something or pay for a service.
“It builds on initiatives such as improvements to our main council website and the launch of SchoolPay, an online payments service for parents and carers.
“The launch of myeastlothian reflects the fact that there is increased demand for services to be accessed online – at a time and place of your choosing.
“While myeastlothian is initially available for Waste Services, we’re looking forward to expanding and building on this into the future. It will complement, and eventually improve upon, many of the services and forms which are currently available on our main website.
“Our intention is to deliver an even better customer experience while improving and streamlining our internal processes.”
How to access myeastlothian
When accessing myeastlothian services for the first time, customers will be asked to create a myaccount - this is the simple and secure sign-in service for online public services in Scotland. Users can set up an online account with a single user name and password to access a range of online public services.
myaccount checks the user, and hands them back seamlessly to the council website with confirmation that their log-in details are genuine.
After registering, customers will sign in using myaccount to access the council’s online services.
It means many online forms will be pre-populated with the customer’s information, provided from their myaccount details.
This process means the council will require less time to check evidence of identity and address, saving money in the process.