A DIGITAL portal to pay council tax anytime of the day has been launched by Wiltshire Council.

The new service is part of county authority's digital programme, which it hopes will make services more easily accessible for taxpayers, and save it money.

The programme is expected to bring more than £5m of savings for the council by 2020 to help it balance its books in the face of cuts from central government.

Philip Whitehead, cabinet member for ICT, said: “We’re delighted to offer this new service to our residents, which makes it simpler and easier to pay and manage their council tax online, at a time convenient to them.

“This is just the start of our ambitious digital programme, which will make it easier for residents to access a range of our services securely online at a time of their choosing.

“I would encourage all residents to sign up for the new online council tax service and create an account, as it will make it easier for them to manage their council tax payments each year. It will also free up officer administration time, so we can deliver services more effectively.”

As well as cost-cutting measures Wiltshire Council agreed to increase council tax by 2.99 per cent at for its 2019/20 budget last month.

Full details of how to sign up and use the new service will be included with council tax bills, which are due to go out on 11 March. To sign up residents will only need their council tax number, name and address.

The council is also working towards creating a Citizen ID, which allows resident to access services more easily online with one sign on.