Cyflwynwyd gan:Cllr. Nia Jeffreys
Decision:
The report
was accepted.
Minutes:
The item was presented
by Cllr Nia Jeffreys.
DECISION
The report was accepted.
DISCUSSION
The report was presented,
noting that it reported on the complaints procedure within the Council. It was explained that the Council had a specific procedure that was updated in April 2021. It was noted that when
the procedure was revised, amendments had been made and the procedure
was now under the Corporate Support Department.
It was stated that
the reported noted the formal complaints the Council had received together with the complaints submitted to the Ombudsman. It was emphasised that the Council used complaints
to improve services and to see the trends across the departments. It was highlighted that the number of complaints had increased, and this was seen across
Local Government. Although
the numbers had risen, it
was noted that the number of complaints to the Ombudsman had remained consistent.
It was explained that the Ombudsman had noted that the complaints figures submitted by the Council appeared to be realistic, that the procedure was working and the Council was obviously willing to learn lessons from
the complaints. It was emphasised
that there was room for improvement
and a need to ensure the mindset that complaints were positive and
a means to improve a service and central
to the service's work. It
was explained that training was currently being formulated on customer care
jointly with the Ombudsman and will
be held in October.
Attention
was also drawn to the Successes
Wall (Wal Llwyddiannau) that highlighted
the public's appreciation and displayed services
at their best.
Observations arising from the discussion
¾
The Head
of Department added that the report highlighted the progress made, however, there was a need to continue to build upon this progress.
¾
It was noted
that the Ombudsman's statistics included official and unofficial
complaints and the number of complaints were considered to be realistic. It was stated that by presenting the figures in full that
the Council was being completely open.
¾
It was expressed
that the department had noted 41 complaints during the first five months of this year, and
the number appeared to be low and it was asked if the Council
caughtvery complaint. It was explained that the Council was eager to receive complaints and sought to be open by receiving complaints through various ways, and therefore
reached a high number of individuals.
¾
Concerns were highlighted that the Council did not catch every complaint
and it was asked if Councillors’ complaints were included in these
numbers. It was noted that there was a need for Cabinet Members to be drawn into complaints so that
they were aware of them earlier
in the process.
¾
It was emphasised that the Ombudsman's letter noted that this year had
been a totally different one and therefore there was a need to take this into
consideration when discussing this item.
Awdur:Geraint Owen
Supporting documents: