Issue - meetings

That the Committee:

(a)       Notes the annual performance of the Council in respect of complaints made to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (2019-20) and local complaints made against services in the first half of 2020-21;

(b)       Supports the actions in paragraph 1.08 to improve complaints handling across the Council; and

(c)       Supports the actions in paragraph 1.09 to review the Council’s complaints policy by 31 March, 2021.

The Customer Contact Service Manager presented the report to share the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) Annual Letter for 2019-20.  The report also included an overview of complaints against Council services between 1 April to 30 September 2020.

Although there had been an increase in the number of complaints made against the Council in 2019/20, a high percentage were premature (as the complaints procedure had not been fully exhausted), out of jurisdiction or closed after initial consideration by the PSOW.  Good progress was reported on completing a range of actions to improve complaints handling.

For the period April to September 2020, Council services had performed well in closing a high percentage of complaints within timescale despite the national emergency, and the number of complaints had peaked in July as services were resumed.  Members’ attention was drawn to priority work underway on the workforce training programme and new Complaints Policy.

In response to comments from Councillor Jones, the Customer Contact Service Manager gave examples of complaints referred back from the PSOW which were requests for services.  She explained that the recommendation on complaints handling applied to all councils and that workforce training was aimed at improving the quality of responses to reduce referrals to the PSOW.  The high number of complaints for waste and recycling services reflected the national position.

The Chief Executive spoke about work undertaken in Streetscene & Transportation and Planning to improve the quality of responses and timescales.

The Chairman referred to the inclusion of Rent Smart Wales complaints categorised under Cardiff Council, which prompted discussion on the disparity of figures due to outsourcing services.  The Customer Contact Service Manager agreed to include the comments as part of feedback on the Annual Letter.

Councillor Mullin paid tribute to the Service Manager and her team for their work.

In response to comments from Councillor Heesom, the Chief Executive provided clarification on the services of the PSOW and said that the Complaints Policy would be shared with the Committee in the New Year.  The Customer Contact Service Manager spoke about her involvement on a consultation group with the PSOW to discuss policy changes.

The recommendations were moved and seconded by Councillors Heesom and Bibby.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee:

(a)       Notes the annual performance of the Council in respect of complaints made to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (2019-20) and local complaints made against services in the first half of 2020-21;

(b)       Supports the actions in paragraph 1.08 to improve complaints handling across the Council; and

(c)       Supports the actions in paragraph 1.09 to review the Council’s complaints policy by 31 March, 2021.