Agenda item

To consider a report by the Principal Manager – Business Support (copy enclosed) providing an overview of compliments, suggestions and complaints received under the Council’s customer feedback policy ‘Your Voice’ during Quarter 2 2015/16.

11.30 a.m. – 12 noon

A report by the Principal Manager – Business Support was submitted (previously circulated) providing an overview of compliments, suggestions and complaints received under the Council’s customer feedback policy ‘Your Voice’ during Quarter 2 2015/16.

The Lead Member for Customers and Libraries introduced the report and the Principal Manager – Business Support detailed its contents, with particular emphasis on the 4 year analysis trend graphs.  During his presentation he explained –

·         that the service was currently working on modifications to the Customer Relationships Manager (CRM) system that would facilitate the production of reports and meaningful data

·         that the complaints staff had been working closely with services over recent months with a view to establishing the facts behind the figures, particularly with respect to the reasons for missing set targets

·         that there would always be a number of complaints which would miss the set target dates for dealing with complaints.  These would usually be complex, sometimes multi-faceted complaints, which due to their very nature would necessitate a detailed resolution process

·         performance in relation to Stage 2 complaints had fluctuated more during the current year than in previous years

·         12 complaints had been received from one individual, this type of complaint and complaints against senior officers were very expensive to investigate due to the seniority of the officer required to investigate them and the length of time that officer would have to dedicate to the process.

Responding to members’ questions officers advised that –

·         all complaints were acknowledged upon receipt, detailing the expected timescale for response to the complaint

·         data was available on an all-Wales basis comparing local authorities’ performance in dealing with complaints

·         training was offered to officers within all departments with respect to dealing with complaints and the procedure to follow

·         complaints which were of an operational nature could sometimes take longer to resolve due to the need to visit specific sites etc.,

·         with respect to vexatious complaints the Council could utilise its policy for dealing with unacceptable customer behaviour, officers could also contact the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’ office for assistance with such complaints

·         whilst the majority of services had been subjected to cuts during recent years, the number of complaints received was generally on a downward trend.  However, the effect of efficiency cuts may manifest themselves in a different way i.e. a reduction in service performance

·         they would check whether all compliments received by Heads of Service, be they directly from the public or via councillors, were actually recorded on the system

·         confirmed that the target dates for dealing with complaints had been set by the Council as part of its work in drawing up the Corporate Plan

·         it was far better to set high and ambitious targets rather than low ones which would be easy to meet

·         they would ask the Senior Leadership Team to discuss the potential for lowering the threshold for registering a complaint as ‘vexatious’, albeit that this may raise the risk of being at odds with the Ombudsman’s views

·         complaints received by the Council about partner or organisations would be redirected to the organisation involved.  Nevertheless the Chief Executive informed members that he would want to know about complaints about partner organisations who were delivering services on behalf of the Council, such as GwE, Civica etc.,

·         whilst there were specific complexities involved in dealing with integrated health and social care complaints, there were methods for dealing with these types of complaints, i.e. in responding both parties needed to consider how the complainant felt about the matter.

Members did have concerns about the EMMA councillor enquiries service, and the user friendliness of the new system.  Officers agreed to raise this concern with the relevant officer.

Having considered the information members –

RESOLVED subject to the above observations and progressing the actions identified, to receive the information on the Council’s performance in dealing with complaints during Quarter 2 2015/16 in accordance with the ‘Your Voice’ customer feedback policy.