Issue - meetings

A report was presented about the Council’s approach to managing complaints and to update on the Complaints Policy which had recently been revised to make it simpler and more effective.  The complaints process was now split into three stages:

Stage 1 – Resolution

Stage 2 – Review

Stage 3 – Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

It was noted that additional complaints handling training from the Local Government Ombudsman had also been provided to Officers.  In addition, the complaints process was now administered through a new software system which would allow for improved scrutiny.  In the future, quarterly complaints updates would be submitted to Committee, with an annual report each July.

The Committee noted that complaints often exposed a lack of resources and it appeared that Planning (including the pre-application service) and Planning Enforcement may have such an issue and that collaboration with other councils may have to be considered if the Council was unable to meet the required levels of service.  The Head of Corporate Resources acknowledged that resources were stretched and there were high workloads across the Council and there were no financial resources to remedy this issue.  The delivery and prioritisation of services would be reviewed over the course of the year.

A concern was raised in respect of Customer Services etiquette when dealing with complaints.  It was noted that the LGO training had helped with how to deal with complaints when received and there was an intention to expand this training to more customer facing officers.  It was also requested that Members direct any complaints to the Council so they can be investigated correctly.

R E S O L V E D – that the report be noted.