Agenda item

Report of the Head of Digital Transformation & Business Support on feedback, compliments, representations and complaints received and handled by the Council for Quarter 3 (October 2018 to December 2018), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Head of Digital Transformation & Business Support on, compliments, comments and complaints received and handled by the County Council for Quarter 3 (October 2018 – December 2018).

The Report provided a quarterly update to the Committee on the volumes and themes for all types of customer feedback, as outlined above as well as letters from Members of Parliament and Complaints being dealt with by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman about the Council. The Report also provided information regarding the Council’s performance in responding to and learning from the outcomes of complaints.

In relation to Stage 1 complaints (327 in quarter 3), there had been a continuous reduction received quarter on quarter during this reporting year; the only exception was in Children’s Services which had seen an increase, outlined at Appendix 2 – table 3.

At Stage 2, there had been a continual decrease (29 Stage 2 complaints closed in quarter 3). However, the numbers being received per quarter were still higher on average than each quarter in 2017-18. Children’s Services were again an exception, experiencing increases in numbers received throughout the reporting year. What was more concerning was the increase in the percentage of complaints upheld (across the board) compared to those upheld at Stage 1.

In relation to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), there had been a gradual decline in numbers of LGSCO complaints in 2017-18, however, the numbers received were increasing in 2018-19 (Appendix 2 – table 10). However, there had been a decrease in maladministration and injustice findings within 2018-19 compared to 2017-18, which was positive. The Council had maintained an excellent response rate to the LGSCO. All LGSCO final decisions could be viewed on the LGSCO website – www.lgo.org.uk 

Capturing compliments was important for the Council, but the Customer Relations Team were unable to report on compliments not shared with them, therefore the information presented could only be a partial picture.

The number of MP enquiries received in quarters 2 and 3 2018-19 showed a decrease compared to quarter 1. The reason for this was not known (Appendix 2 – graph 2). The Report highlighted there was a need for improvement in response times to MP Enquiries for the majority of services, although Digital Transformation and Business Support (DTBS) had maintained a 100% response rate throughout the year to date.

A representation was described as a comment or concern not intended or eligible to be a formal complaint but required a formal response and the Council continued to see a significantly lower number of representations received than in previous years. The general reduction was likely to be partially attributable to Highways managing their own representations, therefore the information presented was unlikely to give the full picture.

Members commented and asked questions on the following issues;

·         the references to rudeness of staff (para 3.5) and what action the Council was taking on this;

·         the role of the Leadership Group in oversight of the issues contained within the Report;

·         the delays in response times to stage 2 complaints (para 4.2);

·         timeliness of answering calls in the Customer Services Centre (notwithstanding this wasn’t under the remit of the customer relations team); and

·         how vexatious complaints were dealt with and the Council’s policy on this.

RESOLVED that the Report be noted and the issues of high levels of perceived staff rudeness and timeliness in responding to stage 2 complaints be considered in more detail by the Leadership Group as part of their management oversight of the process.