Agenda item

9.1

The Chair reminded Members that this Ombudsman Annual Report was for the year 2019/20 and as such would not include the 2 Ombudsman Public Reports from 2020.

9.2

Paul Taylor (Head of Customer Services) apologised for the lateness of the report which was due to the impact the pandemic had had on customer services and that for the first time, there were 2 annual reports.  It was hoped to bring the 2020/2021 report to Committee in December.  The Ombudsman had been very understanding of the pressures facing councils during the pandemic.

9.3

Jenny Callaghan, Operations Manager, informed Committee that the Council had dealt with over 2000 formal complaints during the 2019/2020 year and only 143 complaints had been escalated to the Local Government Ombudsman and 58 to the Housing Ombudsman.  This was a reduction on the previous year.

9.4

The service areas with the largest numbers of complaints were Adult Social Care, Repairs and Maintenance and Housing and Neighbourhoods.  The majority were concluded without formal investigation.

9.5

Only 29% of Local Government Ombudsman complaints had been responded to within the time limit of 20 days, however, the situation with the Housing Ombudsman was more positive, even though the time limit was only 15 days.

9.6

The Local Government Ombudsman had made only 1 public report in 2019/20 which was around blue badges and the failure to carry out face to face mobility assessments.  The Council had showed learning and changed procedures before the report was published.

9.7

£20,017 had been paid out in compensation.  The Council had a 100% compliance rate with recommendations and orders.

9.8

There were added challenges this year due to the pandemic and this had impacted on response times.  The department had been trying to proactively make contact with those responsible for supplying information and response times had been discussed at EMT.  A self-assessment of complaint handling against Housing Ombudsman Code had been carried out and this was published on the website.

9.9

A new complaint module was being built in the Customer Relations Management (CRM) system which would provide an opportunity to relaunch complaint handling, guidance and training for officers.

9.10

Councillor Adam Hurst requested that a report on general complaints to the Council be brought to Committee and asked how informal complaints to the Council were recorded.  Paul Taylor said that an opportunity to bring a report on general complaints would be welcomed.  There was an inconsistency on how informal complaints were recorded and it may be necessary to revisit.  Jenny Callaghan informed Committee that Housing and Repairs kept records of informal complaints which could be built on.

9.11

Councillor Angela Argenzio expressed disappointment that departments were poor at submitting evidence on time and there was a need to look for solutions.  The Council should be aiming to receive no complaints and it was disappointing that those who were the most vulnerable were facing the most difficult complaints.  The website also did not make it easy to complain.

9.12

Paul Taylor explained that the complaints project gave an opportunity to review the complaints system in place.  There had been a delay in refreshing the website, but this would be done in the next few months.  Digital Services had also been under pressure.

9.13

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones noted that Education Healthcare Plans (EHC) featured frequently in the Ombudsman complaints and there was also anecdotal evidence that they were quite difficult to access and requested a report to the next Committee on EHC’s and lessons learned.

9.14

The Chair asked whether Members and the public would be asked to comment on the new complaint process.  Paul Taylor agreed that it would be really helpful.  The mapping had been completed and it was now necessary to look at ease of use.  A report could be brought back to Committee.

9.15

RESOLVED:- That (1) the report be noted;

(2) A report on Education Healthcare Plans be submitted to the next meeting of the Audit and Standards Committee.