Agenda item

To report on the volume and details of complaints received by the City Council 2018/2019

8.1       Sue Howell (Complaints and Customer Manager) introduced the report on the volume and details of complaints received in 2018/2019. The report on Corporate Complaints summarised the Council’s complaints performance (complaint stages 1 and 2), complaints received from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and a limited review of dealing with the Leader and Cabinet Member correspondence.

8.2       The Committee was advised that there had been an increase in volume of Stage 1 and Stage 2 complaints. Sue Howell observed that the increase in Stage 1 complaints was low compared to the volume of complaints overall and did not constitute a deterioration in performance, as response times continued to be good and so were more likely indicative of more complaints being captured. Sue Howell also advised that the most common causes of complaints at Stage 1 were a delay in doing something, failure to do something or disagreement about a charge received whilst at Stage 2 more people were choosing to escalate complaints. Sue Howell mentioned that there had been a decrease in the numbers of complaints received from the LGSCO.

8.3       The Committee discussed complaints concerning housing and queried the increase in Housing Solutions Services complaints. Officers advised that housing attracted a large volume of complaints but that most complaints were being resolved.

8.4       Councillor Jacqui Wilkinson queried whether the number of complaints was related to the openness and improved simplicity of the complaints procedure or whether this was due to more problems. Sue Howell affirmed that the new system of complaints via the website was more open, simpler and did capture more complaints. Councillor Wilkinson also mentioned that residents who did not contact their ward councillors for assistance with housing benefits experienced great hardship and difficulties with the system. Sue Howell observed that many such complaints were not appropriate for this complaints procedure and that there were other avenues for those complaints to be addressed.

8.5       Councillor Elizabeth Hitchcock queried whether there was any predictability or cycle to the complaints. Sue Howell advised that it depended on the services, which were so diverse, as to whether there was any possible predictability but that generally the difficulty was the unpredictability, especially at Stage 2. Sue Howell also mentioned that in October this year, there had been some 45 complaints, whereas usually around 10 to 12 complaints would be received.

8.6       Councillor David Boothroyd queried whether the complaints procedure could be published on the website. Sue Howell stated that she would speak to the Communications Team to ensure that it did stay on the website. Councillor Boothroyd also mentioned that housing constituted the largest proportion of complaints and that the document still referred to City West Homes. The Committee was advised that this would change going forward, to reflect the service being brought back within Westminster City Council. This also accounted for the increase in Housing Solution Services complaints.

8.7       Councillor Ian Rowley raised concerns about the increases in housing-related complaints at Stage 1 (rand increase from 96 to 112) and Stage 2 (from 16 to 24), and queried whether this related to City West Homes legacy. Sue Howell stated that these related to repairs and general housing issues, including estate management. Ms Howell also observed the escalation rate showed that most of these complaints were being resolved and that housing attracted the highest volume of complaints. Councillor Rowley also raised concerns about reporting, particularly under-reporting, of anti-social behaviour on estates. Sue Howell mentioned that there is a division in reporting so that if anti-social issues are reported to the housing estate management, there is a policy of working with residents and the police to resolve the concerns which is different from the complaints made to the Anti-Social Behaviour Team, where the issues were criminal. Damian Highwood referred the Committee to figures on anti-social behaviour issues logged by housing management teams and highlighted how these were categorised (e.g. drug-dealing, prostitution, noise as well as the estates where they occur). Damian Highwood observed that the low volume of complaints did not allow analysis to establish a pattern.

8.8       Councillor Jacqui Wilkinson raised the issue that, whilst the discussion always focused on estates, a large part of housing stock was located on streets and that complaints from residents related to anti-social behaviour originating from that housing. Councillor David Boothroyd commented that “anti-social behaviour” was often a catch-all term, there were often counter-accusations and that it could be difficult to get any enforcement.

RESOLVED: That the work of the Corporate Complaints service be noted.