Cumbria County Council will continue to provide key services over Christmas and New Year. Most county council offices will be open as normal on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 December. Offices will be closed on weekends and bank holidays: Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Tuesday January 1. They will reopen normal office hours on Wednesday January 2, 2019.

Adult Social Care: Residential and home care services operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Adult Social Care offices opening hours are: Christmas Eve – 9am-5pm. Christmas Day and Boxing Day – closed. Thursday December 27 – 9am to 5pm. Friday December 28 - 9am to 4.30pm. New Year’s Day – closed. Open usual hours from Wednesday January 2, 2019.

When offices are closed, the social care out-of-hours emergency telephone service is 01228 526690. This can be used 24-hours a day for adult social care emergencies. You can also find contact numbers on the county council website: http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/healthandsocialcare/adultsocialcare/contact/localascoffices.asp

Children's Services: Children's social care offices: Craven House, Barrow and County Hall, Kendal will all be closed on weekends and bank holidays - Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day but open 9am– 5pm on Thursday December 27 and Friday December 28. Normal office hours will resume from Wednesday January 2, 2019.

Ormsgill Family Centre in Barrow is closed on bank holidays, but otherwise open during usual hours 9am–4.30pm. During closure, the out-of-hours number is 0333 240 1727 – which can be used 24-hours a day for children's social care emergencies.

Recycling: Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) will all be open as usual throughout the festive season with the exception of Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, they will all be closing at the slightly earlier time of 4pm. Otherwise they will be open at the usual opening hours.

Ambleside, Rothay Holme - 8am - 6pm, seven days a week. Kendal, Canal Head 8am - 4pm, seven days a week. Ulverston, Morecambe Road - 8am - 6pm, seven days a week. Grange-over-Sands, Guides Lot - 8am - 4pm; Thursday - Saturday (note: may open later or close early during winter for health and safety reasons).

Millom, Redhills: 8am-4pm for recycling materials. 8am-2pm for residual household waste, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Kirkby Stephen, Hobsons Lane: 8am-6pm, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. Barrow, Walney Road: 8am - 6pm, seven days a week.

Cumbria Highways: Cumbria County Council’s highways service will operate an out-of-hours service between 3pm on Christmas Eve and 8am on Wednesday January 2, 2019. There will be full 24-hour cover for winter maintenance activity, as well as out-of-hours emergency response throughout this period. The highways hotline will be open on Thursday December 27, Friday December 28 and Monday December 31, 2018, between 8.30am-5pm. The Highways Hotline number is 0300 303 2992. You can still report any highways defects or issues via the county council website. Twitter users can follow the Highways team @CumbriaHighways and Cumbria Gritters @CumbriaGritters

Windermere Ferry: The ferry will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. It will run on New Year's Day between 10.10am-5.30pm (times from Ferry Nab). Otherwise, the ferry will operate its usual service, crossing between Ferry Nab, Bowness, and Ferry House, Far Sawrey between 6.50am-8.50pm, Monday to Saturday. On Sunday, the service runs between 9.50am-8.50pm. If you a Twitter user, you can get live updates and service info @WindermereFerry. http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/windermereferry

Libraries: Barrow Library: open Thursday December 27 and Friday December 28 between 10am-5pm. Saturday December 29th open as usual. Kendal Library: open Thursday December 27 and Friday December 28, 9.30am-5pm. Saturday December 29 - open as usual. http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/libraries

Archives: Cumbria Archive and Local Studies Centres in Barrow and Kendal closes at 5pm on Friday December 21, and re-opens at 9.30am on Wednesday January 2 2019. The archive service’s online resources will be available throughout Christmas: http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/archives

Registrars: The county council’s online booking system can used to book appointments or order copy certificates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year - http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/registrationservice/

Office opening hours for the festive period: Kendal and Barrow – open Christmas Eve, closing at 1pm. Christmas Day, Boxing Day closed. Thursday December 27 and Friday December 28 open usual hours. New Year’s Eve: Barrow & Kendal closing 3pm. New Year’s Day – closed. Kendal and Barrow open usual hours from Wednesday January 2, 2019. An ‘out of hours’ emergency contact number is available – 0300 303 2472