Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee notes the annual performance of the Council in respect of complaints made to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales during 2021-22;

(b)       That the Committee notes the 2022-23 half year performance of the Council in respect of complaints made to services in line with its complaints procedure;

(c)       That the Committee supports the actions outlined in paragraph 1.15 to improve complaints handling across the Council; and

(d)       That the requested analysis data be shared with the Committee for future reports.

The Chief Officer (Governance) introduced the report to share the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) Annual Letter which summarised the Council’s performance on complaints investigated during 2021-22.

The Customer Contact Service Manager said that the increase in new complaints made against the Council in 2021/22 reflected the trend nationally, the majority of which had been closed due to being out of jurisdiction, premature or closed after initial consideration by the PSOW.  She highlighted the impact of duplicated complaints and advised that steps to encourage use of the Council’s complaints procedure helped to reduce the number of premature complaints to the PSOW.  An update was given on progress with the mandatory training programme and a review of the Managing Customer Contact Policy.  An overview of complaints against Council services between 1 April to 30 September 2022 indicated a steady improvement in complaint performance across all portfolios.

On actions being taken to further improve complaints handling, Councillor Bill Crease welcomed the development of a toolkit for schools and elected Members on how to manage unacceptable behaviour on social media.

Councillor Alasdair Ibbotson suggested that future updates reflect the proportion of upheld complaints against the Wales average and that a breakdown be included to show complaints on perceived service failings and those relating to access to services/delayed responses.  The Customer Contact Service Manager agreed to include more detail in future annual reports to the Committee.

In response to a request to show the number of complaints per capita for authorities across Wales, the Chairman referred to the appendix to the PSOW Letter which indicated that Flintshire had the second highest number of complaints per 1000 residents in 2021/22.

The Chairman commented on the number of complaints against the Council in comparison with the Welsh average, and the service receiving the most complaints received which reflected the national trend.  On performance for the first half of 2022/23, he acknowledged that Planning, Environment & Economy was a front-line service and impacted by staffing issues but felt that response times to complaints should be monitored for improvement.

In responding to comments, the Customer Contact Service Manager highlighted the reduction in the number of Flintshire cases with PSOW intervention and the high percentage of complaints made to the PSOW which were closed at the assessment stage.

The recommendations, as amended, were moved and seconded by Councillors Bill Crease and Linda Thomas.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee notes the annual performance of the Council in respect of complaints made to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales during 2021-22;

(b)       That the Committee notes the 2022-23 half year performance of the Council in respect of complaints made to services in line with its complaints procedure;

(c)       That the Committee supports the actions outlined in paragraph 1.15 to improve complaints handling across the Council; and

(d)       That the requested analysis data be shared with the Committee for future reports.