Issue - meetings

Interviews with: Councillor Moss, Cabinet member for Corporate Services and Sam Bailey, Research and Performance Officer.

Sam Bailey, Research and Performance Officer, presented the complaints report to the Committee.  The report also included details of compliments received by the Council during the last quarter.  It was noted that:

·  94 Stage 1 complaints were closed of which 90 (95.70%) were responded to in time.

·  23 Stage 2 complaints were processed which represented a 92% increase on quarter 4 of 2012/13.  The number of Stage 2 complaints would be monitored by the Policy and Performance team to assess whether this was a cyclical trend or a genuine increase.

·  Only 10 complaints handling satisfaction surveys were returned which represented a 13% response rate.  The Policy and Performance team was looking at ways to improve the response rate, including telephone surveys.

Concerns were expressed by Members as to the point of the complaints handling satisfaction surveys given that it appeared that the majority of those who were not satisfied with the way in which their complaint was handled could not separate the outcome of their complaint from how it was processed.  The Research and Performance Officer undertook to look at best practice and how the survey form could be redesigned to separate customer satisfaction with outcome and process.

The Research and Performance Officer also undertook to provide the following information in the quarter 2 report for 2013/14:

·  An update on the way in which complaints filtered by Members are recorded.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the Council’s performance in relation to complaints be noted;

(b)  That the teams and individual Officers within the Council be congratulated on the compliments received; and

(c)  That the following information be provided for the Committee in the quarter 2 report for 2013/14:

  (i)  An update on the action taken to improve the effectiveness of the complaints handling satisfaction surveys; and

  (ii)  An update on the way in which complaints filtered by Members are recorded.