Lancashire County Council has moved closer to replacing its current 0845 numbers with 0300 numbers, which will make it cheaper to contact the council by phone.
The new numbers will be introduced on Thursday 27th March and will cost the same to call as geographic numbers starting 01 or 02. To many customers, they will be free of charge as part of their telephone packages.
County Councillor Geoff Driver (left), Leader of the Conservative Group at the County Council, said: "I welcome the introduction of the 0300 numbers, which is part of a national move to reduce the cost of contacting public sector organisations."
"I had asked our officers to pursue this initiative when I was the Leader of the County Council and I am delighted that this change is now happening, as it will reduce the cost for any of Lancashire's residents to contact the County Council by telephone."
The existing 0845 numbers will continue to work until the Council is sure that the vast majority of calls are being made to the new numbers. Callers to the 0845 numbers will be automatically connected to the Customer Service Centre and reminded that they can redial the 0300 number at a lower cost if they wish.