Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director Neighbourhood Services.

The Committee received a report of the Corporate Director Neighbourhood Services which presented the Customer Feedback; Complaints, Compliments and Suggestions for Quarter 1 2015/16 (for copy see file of minutes).

The Customer Relations, Policy & Performance Manager advised that between 1 April and 30 June 2015, 721 stage 1 corporate complaints, 256 compliments and 91 suggestions were received by the council. 57 of those complaints were escalated to stage 2.  This represented a 17% increase in complaints received during the quarter against the comparable period last year. It was reported that there had been some changes to the complaints process following agreed changes at Cabinet in July 2015 and that it was likely that a shift in figures would start to be seen in the coming months. It was noted that the increase could be partly attributed to the introduction of the garden waste scheme during its period of bedding in.

Moving on, details were reported in respect of each service grouping highlighting complaints, compliments and comments for the quarter. With regard to Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) Activity it was reported that during Q1 the LGO made initial enquiries / initiated investigations into 33 matters. Decisions were delivered on 22 investigations and another 18 were ongoing.

The Customer Relations, Policy & Performance Manager in conclusion advised that reporting would continue on a quarterly basis and further details would be reported in future reports regarding learning outcomes.

Councillor Wilkes in referring to bin complaints commented that some were in fact quite serious and could impact upon elderly or vulnerable people. In addition he made reference to parking issues at Abbey Road in Pity Me and commented that it was likely that further complaints regarding this issue would be forthcoming.

Councillor Wilkes in referencing paragraph 61 of the report further asked whether it was possible to have details of any financial settlements made so that members were aware of the outcome. In response the Customer Relations, Policy & Performance Manager advised that this detail would be included in the new style reporting following the policy review.

Councillor Martin asked for clarification regarding the publication of ombudsman decisions and whether the council had a duty to publish this information on the council’s website. It was noted that the council’s website did include a link to the LGO site where decisions were published, however Councillor Martin’s comments were noted and would be fed back to the Monitoring Officer.

Councillor Martin further made reference to page 100 of the report and in particular the issue of contaminated waste. He commented that it would be useful for residents if the council’s website incorporated a chart outlining which numbers (which were displayed on all plastic items) could be recycled and those which could not. In addition he commented that he found many pages of the council’s website quite flat and did not provide adequate information in order for the resident to resolve their query, without the need for direct contact.

The Customer Relations, Policy & Performance Manager advised that the Strategic Waste team would be made aware of the suggestions and detail could be reported back at a future date. With regard to online content it was noted that the review of the CRM system would see the introduction of a number of new webforms which would reduce the number of calls related to issues such as pest control etc.

Councillor Wilkes further commented that the search function on the council’s website did not recognise Councillor names. It was noted that this issue had been recognised and was being picked up via the Website Working Group.

Councillor J Carr on a separate point commented that when issues were raised and answers could not be provided at the meeting, that responses were not just directed to the councillor who posed the question, but to all members and that the response be recorded accurately.

Resolved:

That the content of the report be noted.