Agenda item

To present the report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/ Monitoring Officer.

The report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer providing information on service complaints for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 was presented for the committee’s consideration. The report also included reference to Whistleblowing disclosures and Code of Conduct complaints during the period and  incorporated the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’s (PSOW) Annual Letter for 2024/25.

The Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer presented an overview of the report and highlighted the key points. Services agreed with the data presented and accepted the analysis. Training for Complaints Officers was delivered with the PSOW during the year and the Council’s Complaints Policy was updated to clarify the Stage 1 and Stage 2 process and remove the “concerns” element.

The Highways and Property Service had experienced an increase in complaints with likely underreporting in quarters 1 and 2. While Housing Services had seen a reduction in complaint numbers, a high proportion were upheld and underreporting was again likely in first two quarters. In the  Leisure Service, 93% of complaints were upheld, which is attributed to service requests being recorded as stage 1 complaints. The Head of Service has accepted this and staff have received additional training. Planning and Waste services  recorded a high level of performance, with no concerns in any service regarding late responses.

Complaints against the Council to the PSOW reduced in 2024/25 and included a significant reduction in issues relating to complaints handling. The PSOW’s Annual Letter highlighted the need to notify the PSOW  when implementing PSOW recommendations and to do so within the timescale set by the PSOW. Failure to do so in two cases in 2024/25 involving six recommendations resulted in recommendations which were actioned being recorded as non-compliance.

The Head of Highways, Waste and Property reported with regard to the increase in complaints against the Highways and Property Services. He noted that many were business as usual enquiries escalated as complaints when the response was not accepted. Given the operational nature of the service, a high volume of such cases is expected. He advised that staff require further CRM training, as use of the system has led to increased reporting and highlighted the need to distinguish between complaints and business as usual enquiries. He referred to the most common areas of complaint for the service and outlined the mitigating circumstances. He noted that improved CRM use will support timely and consistent logging of complaints, differentiation between complaints and routine enquiries along with more effective monitoring by managers. He confirmed that the issues identified are being considered at the service’s corporate team meetings which oversee complaint trends and response times.

It was resolved to endorse the recommendations of the report, namely –

·      To implement as soon as possible –

·         The introduction of the Power BI dashboard for Heads of Service and Directors in relation to complaints about their service

·         Training for complaints officers, and their deputies on customer care and qualities/diversity

·         Update guidance on effective complaint handing

·      Having considered the Annual Letter from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) 2024/25, to require that current performance data on service complaints become a standing item in the routine meetings between Heads of Service/Directors and their Executive lead (Portfolio Holder).

·      To instruct the Monitoring Officer to remind services of the requirement  to –

·         Action any recommendations from the PSOW, and report completion to the PSOW within the timeframe set

·         Routinely record any lessons learnt from complaints, identifying any patterns and implementing suitable mitigation measures.

·      To instruct the Monitoring Officer to respond to the PSOW’s Annual Letter 2024/25, as required in the penultimate paragraph of the said Letter.