Agenda item

6.1

Jenny Callaghan highlighted that the report provided an overview of the complaints received, formally referred and determined by the three Ombudsman (Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman, Parliamentary & Health Service Ombudsman and Housing Ombudsman) during the twelve months from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.

6.2

Jenny Callaghan mentioned that the Housing Ombudsman’s annual report had been delayed until January 2022 due to resourcing issues.

6.3

The Committee received a presentation about the Annual Ombudsman Enquires and Investigations for 2021/22. The presentation covered;

• Departments within the Council that had received the highest number of complaints for 2021/22.
• The average response times for the complaints identified.
• The outcomes for the complaints identified.
• Examples of training and learning provided across the service.
• What had been introduced to improve the service and any other future developments.

6.4

Members of the Committee asked questions and the keys points to note were-

6.5

Councillor Josie Paszek asked if the timescales when issuing an apology could be reduced. Jenny Callaghan mentioned that payments and apologies in most cases were dealt with in a matter of weeks, it was the wider learning actions that were given a longer time period for a response.

6.6

Councillor Angela Argenzio asked if the number of complaints for 2020/21 had reduced due to the impact of COVID-19. Jenny Callaghan confirmed that COVID-19 had impacted the number of complaints. It was also mentioned that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman had effectively closed the door to receiving complaints for a period at the beginning of the pandemic, this also contributed to the reduction in complaints.

6.7

Councillor Angela Argenzio stated how difficult it was to log a complaint, therefore that could have impacted how many people went through the process. Corleen Bygraves-Paul advised that the new CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system should address the issues around logging a complaint.

6.8

Councillor Angela Argenzio raised doubts around the sincerity of the apology from the Council, given to people involved and affected by the tree incident that took place in 2016. The Chair commented that she was unhappy to hear this and therefore expressed a sincere apology on behalf of the Council. Jenny Callaghan informed the Committee that her role was to oversee how the Council complied with the Ombudsman recommendations when issuing the public apology. It was added that the Ombudsman was satisfied with how the apology was carried out.

6.9

The Committee highlighted the benefit for members to take part in the next phase of the complaints project (customer panel) and observe live cases. Corleen Bygraves-Paul confirmed she would ask the relevant Executive Member if that was a possibility.

6.10

Councillor Simon-Clement Jones asked if the Committee could have an indication of figures from the Housing Ombudsman annual report. Jenny Callaghan advised that once the report from the Housing Ombudsman was received in January 2022, it could be shared with the Audit & Standards Committee.

6.11

The Chair expressed concerns around late/incomplete service comments leading to response delays and mentioned that Customer Services had the full support from the Committee to obtain information in a timely manner. Jenny Callaghan thanked the Chair for the support and acknowledged how difficult it could be to respond however, responding to Ombudsman enquiries should be seen as a priority.

6.12

The Director of Legal and Governance mentioned that the new complaints system would improve processes around how staff interacted with customers. It was important that customers had an input on how the the current system could be improved. 

6.13

The Chair thanked Jenny Callaghan and Corleen Bygraves-Paul for attending the meeting and presenting the report.

6.14

RESOLVED: That the Committee considered the Annual Ombudsman report and provided its view on the performance of Ombudsman complaints and the issues raised.