A SENIOR councillor has told of a seven-minute wait for a telephone call to police to be answered - only to be told the number was unavailable and he should call back later.

Coun Michael Heseltine told of the "gremlins in the system" at a meeting of the North Yorkshire police authority on Monday, when a senior police officer revealed that it was withholding payments to the makers of software for a controversial telephone call handling system, which has generated scores of public complaints.

Deputy chief constable Peter Walker told the controlling police authority on Monday, however, that taking court action against the makers in an attempt to win compensation had been ruled out because it would be a distraction.

The force preferred to work with the software makers to resolve problems which have plagued the system, based on control rooms in Northallerton and York.

Mr Walker, who admitted mistakes had been made in staffing the system, revealed the force had also been in touch with the North Yorkshire ICT Partnership in an attempt to make progress.

He told the meeting in Northallerton: "We are having regular meetings with the makers of the software to discuss progress in resolving the difficulties. We are satisfied that progress is being made, but it is fair to say neither the police nor the makers had a correct assessment of how difficult it would be to make the system work.

"We should not fall out with the company, but should work with it to solve the problems. We are withholding monies, but the way in which the company is responding is satisfactory and it would be a real distraction to go down the path of litigation."

Mr Walker said a review of the way in which calls were handled had been undertaken. A recruitment campaign had begun for staff to service calls and the management structure in control rooms had been changed.

On the main public lines people were having to wait too long for a telephone to be answered, but it was even more important for a call to be handled effectively once it was passed into the wider force network.

Coun Heseltine asked whether the force was employing well trained staff instead of people from an agency.

Mr Walker said: "We are not employing agency staff in the way that we were last year. It was not very helpful to put in people unfamiliar with our organisation, effectively as gatekeepers of the business."

Coun Heseltine, who spoke of "gremlins in the system," said he had once had to ring his local police number, given in an advertisement in the new telephone directory, only to be told after almost seven minutes that it was not available and he should call back later.

He said: "We have had many reassurances of progress, but so often it seems that they are not matched by the public perception. There is a huge gulf between what the public feels and the reassurances we have had. That is very frustrating.

"The quicker we can get on to one forcewide non-emergency number the better it will be for everyone. Some of the problems will be overcome."