A NEW computer system will make it easier to complain about Worcester City Council services.

The council has acknowledged that its current system is not up to scratch and plans to introduce a Government system designed to ensure that every complaint is logged on to a central database and gets a reply.

The system, which is called NonStopGov, should speed up the time it takes to deal with complaints.

At the moment, council departments track and respond to comments and complaints in different ways.

The city council website will also be changed so people can comment or complain online.

The city's cabinet has approved a report recommending the system be installed, which will mean each departmental IT system being integrated into one central database.

Coun Sam Arnold, who chaired an investigation into it, said: "What we are trying to do is make it easier for comments and complaints to be followed through. People get upset if they don't get a response.

"The NonStopGov system basically means we have one central system where we can log everything."

The Guildhall will draw up the costs of integrating its IT systems together before adopting the database.

The authority is hoping to get the system installed as quickly as possible, but it is unlikely to be in place by this year.

Coun Dave Clark, cabinet member for customer focus, said: "We have endorsed the report and will use the NonStopGov system, but there isn't a date it will be in place because it requires changes to our IT system so everything is integrated.

"It will mean that if someone calls our customer services centre, they can give us feedback without having to e-mail, and we can sort it out without having to have a meeting, and so on - it will give us joined-up thinking."

More than 25 councils in the country have adopted the NonStopGov system. The system is free, but the city council is investigating how much it will cost to alter its current IT system.