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Birmingham families are making the most of their television sets thanks to the city's 'Looking Local' channel, developed by Digital Birmingham and available through interactive digital television (idTV) by pressing the red button.

Gone are the days when a TV set was used only to watch TV programmes: now, idTV brings real interactivity to the small screen, allowing citizens to access a range of council and other local services via their remote control.

Birmingham's local channel, launched last year as part of a national programme, has the highest reported usage in the country, with more residents accessing council services via their TV than any other place in the UK.

Now, alongside watching TV favourites such as Doctors - filmed at the University of Birmingham's campus at Selly Oak - residents can access a range of council services, including booking appointments at three of the city's GP practices.

Subscribers to Sky Digital, Virgin Media and Freeview broadband services in Birmingham can access the 'looking local' service through idTV and use it to find jobs, report problems like graffiti and potholes, renew library books and find out about benefits from the City Council.

Viewers can click on a number of links to over 50 services on offer, including requesting a bulky item collection or a voting form, reporting a missed refuse collection or fly tipping, or asking for a blue disability badge. In addition they can access a wealth of information including live bus and train travel information, legal assistance and direct access to JobcentrePlus for the latest job opportunities in Birmingham.

Residents served by Springfield Surgery in Sparkhill, Jiggins Lane Medical Centre in Bartley Green and the Old Priory Surgery in King's Heath can also use the service to book, view, or cancel non-urgent doctor's appointments. Those whose local surgeries are not included in this pilot can ask to 'Get My Surgery Involved' from a link on the main menu.

Special needs classroom assistant Dave Slater from Hodge Hill has been using idTV for a number of weeks and not looked back.

"It's safe to say I'm not exactly a digital expert but I was pleased to find idTV was both informative and easy-to-use", he said.

"The last thing you want after a day at work is to be starting up the computer again, but the TV feels like a comfortable medium to use.

"I actually put the service into action to report that the green bin bags outside our house needed collecting and action was taken soon afterwards. I'll definitely use idTV again in the future."

"The new service will revolutionise the way people deal with the council and provide support for citizens who need it most," said Birmingham City Council deputy leader Cllr. Paul Tilsley, who heads up the Digital Birmingham partnership - the organisation charged with ensuring that the benefits of digital technology are available to all in the city.

"More than half of homes have interactive digital TV and Birmingham people are already familiar with services such as ordering films, and pizzas directly from their television sets.

"idTV is a fantastic new way of allowing people to access once time-consuming services using the same simple click of the red button used for other interactive services.

"In particular, citizens who do not own a PC, or have mobility issues, such as the elderly and disabled people, will benefit from this easy-to-use service which can be accessed from the comfort of their armchair, cutting down on the need for difficult trips to the neighbourhood office.

"We'd be interested to hear if there are any other services users would want to be included - residents can send in comments via the TV service itself."

All council services available through idTV can also be accessed on the internet or via a web-enabled mobile phone by typing
http://www.digitv.gov.uk/digitv/cds/Birmingham/Netgem/home into their browser.