Agenda item

The Head of Customer Access and Financial Support presented the Making Experiences Count report for the second quarter in 2013/14.

The following points were highlighted for Members’ consideration during the presentation of this report:

·                There had been 41 complaints during the period which represented a decline in the number of complaints that had been made in the previous quarter.

·                92% of complainants had received a response from the Council within 15 days of the complaint being reported.  In cases where further time was required to resolve the issue Officers attempted to inform the complainant about the reasons for the delay. 

·                The timeframes for responding to complaints had recently been changed as part of a trial.  The outcomes of this trial would continue to be monitored.

·                There had been a reduction in the number of complaints relating to the route optimisation programme.  The last complaint received on this subject had been reported in September 2013.

·                One complaint, concerning a housing strategy matter, had been escalated for the Head of Service’s consideration.  It had been found that whilst Officers had followed appropriate procedures communication with the complainant about the case could have been more effective.

·                Two customers had complained about arrangements at a Planning Committee meeting.  Due to the fact that this complaint had been about a very specific matter it had been dealt with by the Chief Executive and Head of Legal, Equalities and Democratic Services.

·                There had been a slight increase during the period in the number of customers who made payments to the council using the automated system.

·                The Council had received 19 compliments during the period, though it was likely that the number of compliments received by staff was significantly higher as many employees tended not to report the compliments they had received.

A number of further points were discussed in detail by Members once the report had been presented.

·                The extent to which staff checking litter levels prior to mowing represented a change to service delivery was debated as Members suggested that this had traditionally been a requirement of landscaping and cleansing operatives in the district.  However, Officers noted that whilst this was meant to be a standard working procedure litter picking had not always been occurring prior to mowing taking place.

·                Complaints about bus passes and other County Council functions would be reported to the County Council as part of their complaints process.  However, in cases where district Council staff had some involvement in delivering County Council services attempts were being made to ensure that staff provided appropriate information to the customer about the service.

·                The involvement of qualified inspectors in assessing the condition of properties provided to vulnerable residents as part of the Step Up Scheme was briefly considered.

·                Officers confirmed that cases classified as “other” could relate to a variety of enquiries including Council services that could not be easily categorised  and services provided by other organisations.

·                Concerns were expressed about the fact that emails had been sent by a member of staff revealing personal email addresses.  Reassurance was provided that staff received data protection training on an annual basis and that staff were being encouraged to use blind copying facilities were personal email addresses were used for communications.

·                No guarantee could be provided that complaints and compliments reported by Councillors would be logged onto the system.  To ensure that both complaints and compliments were logged Members needed to ensure that they referred the matter to the relevant officers and specifically requested that the complaints and compliments be logged.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.