Issue - meetings

Committee considered a report which provided information regarding performance in relation to the Council’s Customer Service Standards, and the effective management of complaints.

Appendix 1 and 2 to the report provided a quarterly breakdown of the key customer service standards, as detailed below, together with the target and the cumulative performance for each standard:

·       Incoming calls - to be answered within 20 seconds;

·       E-mails - target 1: 100% to be acknowledged within 1 working day, and target 2: 100% to be replied to within 8 working days;

·       Live chat (Contact Centres) - target - 75% of incoming Live Chats to be answered within 20 seconds;

·       Unanswered Calls (Abandoned) - Target 10%.

Formal Investigation (stage two): Appendix 3 (D,E) showed the number of formal investigation complaints and M.P. enquiries received by department. Members were asked to note that 100% of formal complaints and 100% MP enquiries had been responded to within the Council’s customer service standard of 15 working days. This target was well above the 95% for both Stage 2 and MP responses, and was the first quarter in which this had been achieved since Q3 2021/22. The Customer Service, Standards & Complaints Manager noted that this was down to the good work of the Customer Standards and Complaints Officer.

Internal Review (stage three): Appendix 3 (F) showed the number of stage three

complaints received for the Q2 period by department. These were complainants

who had already made a stage two complaint but had still felt dissatisfied.

Ombudsman: Appendix 3 (F) showed 1 Ombudsman complaint had been received for the Q2 period and a decision had been taken by the Ombudsman to not investigate as there was not enough evidence to justify any fault in the way the Council had acted.

The Customer Service, Standards & Complaints Manager advised the meeting that a consultation process was currently underway with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the Housing Ombudsman in relation to aligning their codes to form a joint code. There were seven areas of criteria were a response was required from the Council. These changes would have a big impact on the Council’s corporate complaints policy regarding timeframes and processes etc. The Council’s response would need to be submitted by 23rd November.

In response to a Member’s query in relation to the new ‘call back’ service, the

Customer Service, Standards & Complaints Manager advised that she would be producing some figures on this soon.

Moved by Councillor Rita Turner and seconded by Councillor Phil Smith

RESOLVED that the overall performance on Customer Service Standards and Compliments, Comments and Complaint, be noted.

The Customer Service, Standards & Complaints Manager and the Customer

Standards and Complaints Officer left the meeting.