Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillor Andrew Joesbury.

To note any urgent items of business which the Chairman has consented to being considered under the provisions of Section 100(B) 4(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There were no urgent items of business.

Members should declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable

Pecuniary Interest and Non Statutory Interest as defined by the

Members’ Code of Conduct in respect of:

a) any business on the agenda

b) any urgent additional items to be considered

c) any matters arising out of those items and if appropriate, withdraw

from the meeting at the relevant time.

There were no declarations of interest made.

To consider the minutes of the last meeting held on the 12^th December 2022.

Moved by Councillor Ray Heffer and seconded by Councillor Rita Turner

RESOLVED that the Minutes of a Customer Services Scrutiny Committee held on 12^th December 2022 be approved as a correct record.

(Members should contact the officer whose name appears on the List

of Key Decisions for any further information. NB: If Members wish to

discuss an exempt report under this item, the meeting will need to

move into exempt business and exclude the public in accordance with

the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and Local

Government Act 1972, Part 1, Schedule 12a for that part of the

meeting only).

Committee considered the List of Key Decisions and items to be considered in private document.

Moved by Councillor Ray Heffer and seconded by Councillor Rita Turner

RESOLVED that the List of Key Decisions and items to be considered in private document be noted.

The Assistant Director of Housing Management & Enforcement and the Customer Services Manager provided Members with an overview of the Council’s performance for Q3 2022/23, in relation to the Council’s customer standards and complaints.

The Customer Services Manager noted the headline detail in the cover report and then presented each of the appendices in turn.

Customer Service Standards (Appendix 1)

In relation to direct dial incoming calls, the Revenues service had answered 82% within 20 seconds for Q3, which exceeded that target of 65%.  Cumulative performance for 2022/23 was at 80%.

Within the Benefits service, 94% of incoming calls had been answered within 20 seconds for Q3, again significantly above the target of 78%.  Cumulative performance for 2022/23 was at 92%

During Q3, 69% of incoming calls to Contact Centres had been answered within the expected standard timescale of 20 seconds which was below the target of 75%.  Cumulatively performance was at 72% which was only slightly below the target.  The slight slippage was due to staff resources being below the minimum required during the period.

Within the period the Council had received 66,559 email enquiries all of which had been acknowledged within the target time of one working day and 99% replied to in full within 8 working days.  There had been more e-mails (21,941) compared to the same period in 2021/22 (17,964), and the officer noted that this remained a popular method of contact.

The Live Chat service had also progressed in popularity since its launch.  Within Q3, 96% of Live Chats had been answered within 20 seconds which significantly exceeded the target of 75%.  Cumulative performance for the year was at 92%.

Corporate Telephone Standards (Appendix 2)

The officer noted that 95% of incoming calls had been answered within the corporate standard timescale of 20 seconds which exceeded that target of 93%.  The majority of departments had achieved and exceeded the corporate target of 93%, with the exception of Revenues and Benefits, Joint ICT, Procurement, Streetscene, Housing/Community Safety and Housing Repairs.  Cumulatively performance for 2022/23 was at 92% which fell just below the target of 93%.

In relation to Unanswered Calls (Abandoned), which was a new indicator, the report identified that during Q3, 12% of incoming calls had not been answered.  The majority of departments had not achieved the target of 5% with the exception of Planning, Revenues and Benefits and Finance, who had all met the target.  Cumulatively performance for 2022/23 was 13% which was above the target of 5%.  It was highly likely this would be reviewed for 2023/24 possibly to a target of 10%.

Compliments (Appendix 3A)

Appendix 3 (A) showed the number of written compliments received for the period by department.  In total 38 written compliments had been received during Q3, 1^st October to 31^st December 2022.  Compliments were received from customers who appreciated excellent service.

Comments (Appendix 3B)

Appendix 3 (B) showed the number of written comments received for the period Q3, 1^st October to 31^st December 2022.  ...  view the full minutes text for item CS45-21/22

Committee considered their proposed work programme for 2022/23, and noted remaining items for the rest of the programme up to the end of March.

Moved by Councillor Ray Heffer and seconded by Councillor Rose Bowler

RESOLVED that the Work Programme 2022/23 be approved and noted.

(Scrutiny & Elections Officer)