To consider the annual update to provide assurance that complaints are managed effectively. 

43.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 94-108, provided a summary of formal complaints received in 2018/19.  Members were asked to consider the annual update to gain assurance that complaints were managed effectively and to identify any further action required.

43.2          Members were advised that 192 formal complaints had been received within the year, of which 175 related to Council services and 99 of those were in respect of the Council’s waste and recycling service which was one of the highest profile services.  It was noted that 55% of complaints had been upheld i.e. the Council had agreed they were justified, and 22% were partially justified.  The Council aimed to respond to complaints within 20 working days and had achieved 93% against that target in 2018/19.  If complainants were unhappy with the response to a complaint, it was referred to an independent Head of Service for investigation.  A breakdown by service area, nature of complaint and remedy was attached at Appendix 1 to the report.   In comparison to previous years, whilst the number of complaints was slightly higher this was not significant, fewer appeals had been upheld and the response time had remained consistent.  Tewkesbury Borough Council performed well compared to other local authorities and remained in the top quartile nationally.  Quarter one of 2018/19 had seen a spike in the number of complaints which reflected the increase in grass cutting complaints which Members would be well aware of.  This had resulted in the introduction of a Grass Cutting Improvement Plan and it was pleasing to note that only one complaint had been received in relation to grass cutting in 2019/20 so this had made an impact.  Once they had reached the end of the Council’s complaints process, members of the public also had the option to complain to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and the annual review letter setting out the number of complaints and enquiries received and the decisions made during 2018/19 was attached at Appendix 2 to the report.  It was noted that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman had received six complaints relating to Tewkesbury Borough Council but only one had been upheld.  As the complaints framework had been in place for three years it was now due to be reviewed and it was intended to work with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to undertake this review over the coming months.

43.3          A Member queried how the majority of complaints were reported and was informed that they were mainly received online via the ‘Report It’ system.  In response to a query regarding whether people were able to complain verbally, the Corporate Services Manager explained that it was very rare for anyone to request to make a verbal complaint and people were encouraged to make their complaint online or by email as it was important to have a written record in the complainants’ own words; however, she stressed that, if someone was unable to use one of the electronic channels, the team would always support them to ensure they were able to make a complaint.  A Member indicated that several residents in his Ward found it difficult to use the ‘Report It’ system and he questioned if it was possible to produce a simple user guide; for instance, he suggested a short ‘You Tube’ style video might be helpful.  The Corporate Services Manager stressed that the majority of communication methods used were very simple and self-explanatory but she would be happy to consider what additional guidance could be produced in relation to ‘Report It’ and she undertook to speak to the company that provided the Council’s video support within the next month.

43.4           A Member questioned whether comments and concerns were taken into consideration as this could help to prevent formal complaints and the Corporate Services Manager advised that these were generally dealt within the relevant service; however, part of the review would be to look at lessons learnt, for instance, she reiterated that the action taken in response to the grass cutting complaints had made a significant difference.  The Head of Corporate Services went on to indicate that the six month Internal Audit Plan for October 2019 to March 2020 allocated a number of days for the Internal Audit team to look at complaints in order to give assurance that service improvements were being made as a result of the complaints that were received.

43.5           A Member drew attention to the breakdown of complaints by remedy at Page No. 102 and noted that financial compensation had increased from one in 2016/17 and 2017/18 to seven in 2018/19.  The Corporate Services Manager advised that six of these incidents had related to repeat missed collections of garden waste bins and the final one was due to a planning pre-application not being considered in time where a deduction had been made from the cost of the overall planning fee.  The total amount of financial compensation awarded in 2018/19 was £87 so none of the compensatory amounts had been significant.

43.6           It was

RESOLVED          That the summary of formal complaints 2018/19 be NOTED.