Agenda item

Jane Clarke, Head of Policy and Governance, introduced the report which included the following comments:

·         The report set out a summary of complaints received during 2017/18 and the key learnings.

·         Complaint handing processes had reduced from three to two stages and managers were trained to address complaints informally resulting in a quicker response for both the complainant and the Council. Informal resolutions to complaints where not recorded with formal complaints.

·         Overall there was a reduction in the total number of complaints but an increase in the number of complaints going to the Ombudsman.

·         Performance in relation to responding to complaints in a timely manner was improved but still below target.

·         The vast majority of complaints continued to be received online, however, the Council recognised the importance of maintaining a variety of contact methods.

·         The service areas identified with the highest number of complaints where those which had the highest number of customer interactions.

·         Complaints regarding the Assembly Hall Theatre has significantly dropped as a result of proactive, informal complaint handling and no longer recording complaints about show content as corporate complaints.

·         The total amount of compensation paid to complainants remained low at £140.

·         The increase in complaints going through to the Ombudsman was largely due to the change to a two-stage process making it quicker for complainants to proceed to advanced stages, this was a trend that was expected to continue to future years.

·         Of the six complaints investigated by the Ombudsman, two were upheld. The Ombudsman’s letter was attached at Appendix A to the report.

·         Learnings included: ensuring service information was kept up to date, particularly on the website and signs; ensuring services were regularly reviewed to keep up with changes in society and the needs of users; and ensuring consistent compliance with published policies.

Discussion included consideration of the following additional matters:

·         The nature of each complaint was also categorised and recorded. Approximately 90 per cent of complaints where in respect of ‘service not delivered to expected standard’ which included incidents where the service was delivered but in a way that was not good enough in the opinion of the complainant. Another significant area was ‘staff conduct’.

·         Complaints were also received in relation to dissatisfaction with government policy or statutory processes or where the Council was not responsible for the delivery of the service.

·         Whilst these categorisations were recorded they were not routinely reported as they offered limited information on the precise nature of the complaint.

·         Measures introduced to reduce the time taken to respond to complaints included: additional resources, this had been less effective than hoped due to increased workloads in response to the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation; new recording software; and review meetings were booked immediately on receipt of a stage two complaint and cancelled if not needed rather than waiting for the complaint to be verified.

·         Any future changes to processes would be set out in the report for reference in subsequent years.

·         The service area titled ‘Bereavement’ included the cemetery and crematorium.

RESOLVED –

1.    That the customer feedback and issues raised during 2017-18, and the lessons learned as a result of this feedback be noted; and

2.    That the Annual Review letter published by the Local Government Ombudsman at appendix A be noted.