Council to stop taking cash in savings bid

The Council has announced it will stop taking cash at its Selby and Tadcaster offices from June 1 and wants residents to set up direct debit accounts instead, in a move that it hopes will save 12,000 a year.

Residents who still want to pay their rents or council tax with cash are being advised to use their local Post Offices or Payzone facilities in shops – although they will first need Council payment cards.

Councillor Mark Crane, leader of Selby District Council, said: "We've been looking at how we can make our customer contact service operate as efficiently as possible.

"One way in which we can achieve long-term savings, without having a detrimental impact on how people access their local services, is to stop taking cash payments.

"One of our priorities for this year is to reduce our expenditure by a series of balanced measures whilst maintaining essential services to our community.

"We expect significant reductions in future funding for local authorities, but taking small steps like this now will enable us to face these challenges in good shape.

"It's important to note that there are a number of alternatives for making cash payments in our local community, so nobody will lose out."

The council claims data shows that few residents make cash payments at its offices, but to offer the service costs the council money because of the security needed to keep cash on site and transfer it to a bank, as well as taking staff longer to deal with cash transactions.

Fuller details of the changes will be available from the Council's offices in Selby and Tadcaster in coming weeks.