Agenda item

To receive the Authority’s Annual Corporate Complaints Report 2021/22.

Cabinet considered a report which detailed complaint related activity during 2021-22 and which complied with the requirement to publish a report on complaints under the relevant statutory complaint’s legislation.

The Authority’s Annual Complaints Report, attached at Appendix 1, shared information about the corporate complaints the Authority had received in 2021-22.

Both the Our North Tyneside Plan 2021 – 2025, agreed by Council on 23 September 2021 and the customer service programme, agreed by Cabinet on 28 May 2019, made clear the Authority’s commitment to using customer feedback, including complaints, to design, deliver and improve its services.

Every complaint received by the Authority, was an opportunity to demonstrate that the Authority listened to its residents and cared about their views and concerns. The way in which complaints were received and responded to was an important element of a customer’s experience and should follow the Authority’s Corporate Complaints Procedure. All complaints provided an insight into what was working well and what was not. The analysis of complaints data could provide a rich source of intelligence, to inform future prioritisation, planning and service delivery by the Authority.

The Authority served over 208,000 residents each year with millions of individual services and transactions, including those to businesses and visitors, Whilst the overwhelming majority of the services were well received, the Authority knew it did not always get it right, for every one of those customers, first time. The Authority’s aim was to listen, learn and improve, where it doesn’t get it right

The Authority received 647 corporate complaints in 2021-22. Whilst this number was very low as a proportion of the services provided, the Authority was committed to learning from each and every complaint raised and was grateful to those who took the time to share their experiences.

At its meeting of the 17 October 2022, Cabinet agreed the ‘We Listen, We Care’, Customer Service Programme End of Phase Two report which detailed other feedback on customer experiences of council services and the improvements the Authority was making in response to this feedback. The definition of a complaint could be wide-ranging but can be defined as an expression of dissatisfaction with the service provided, or lack of action by the Authority or its employees. This could include failure to achieve specific standards of service.

The Authority’s Corporate Complaint Procedure covered all services it provided and had a three-stage process. Corporate complaints also included statutory complaints received through the Local Authority Social Services Complaints (England) Regulations 2006. A copy of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Review of complaints concerning North Tyneside Council for 2021-22 was attached at Appendix2 to the report.

Cabinet had recently reviewed the work of the second phase of its Customer Service Programme – ‘we listen, and we care’ at its meeting of 17 October 2022. This report detailed other feedback on customer experiences of council services and the improvements the Authority was making in response to this feedback.

The Authority had many ways that it received feedback about the services it provided. Whatever the channel, nature or purpose of this feedback, its benefit was not only to the customer but also to the Authority.  All feedback or complaints were an opportunity to demonstrate that the Authority listened to its residents and cared about their views and concerns. The way in which complaints were received and responded to, was an important element of a customer’s experience and should meet the standards set out in the Authority’s customer promise, every time.

Complaint information was an insight into what was working well and what was not and helped the Authority to meet the needs of the communities it served, especially as those needs evolved. The organisation wide assimilation and analysis of this feedback could then provide one of the most reliable sources of intelligence, to inform future prioritisation, planning and servicedelivery.

A new Customer First Office (CFO) was established by the Authority in July 2022. This Authority team continued to administer the Authority’s corporate complaints in line with its corporate complaint procedure but are now also delivering the work using lessons learned from the Customer Service Programme, as well as ongoing learning from complaints received by the Authority.

The Authority’s Annual Corporate Complaints report for 2021-22 was attached at Appendix 1 to the report, and a summary of the complaints set out in section 1.5.2 of the report.

Complaint activity over the past two years had undoubtedly been influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic and it’s clear that trends and patterns had become more difficult to interpret and predict as a result. Other changes made by the Authority in terms of embedding its values of ‘we listen’ and ‘we care’, may also be changing how the Authority better responded to initial complaints and sought early resolution of any customer complaints.

Priorities for the year ahead reflected the learning from the Authority’s Annual Corporate Complaint report for 2021-22 and focused primarily on strengthening the processes, practices and recording systems, which supported the Authority in making the most from corporate complaint feedback.

·       Work would be undertaken in 2022-23 with Authority services whose complaint patterns had shifted significantly over the past 4 years, to understand the reasons forthis.

·       The Authority remained committed to the prerequisites of a good complaint system. Action would be taken next year to strengthen customer complaint statements, including the outcomes they wished to see and the learning outcomes and actions for services.

·       A new IT system would assist with easier collation of corporate complaint data and frequency ofreporting.

·       The CFO was still in its infancy and would continue to embed in the year ahead, developing positive and proactive relationships with Authority customers and service teams. Particular focus would be given to the relationship between the CFO and the Authority’s dedicated housing, repairs and property customer experiencefunction.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to note the content of the report and approve publication of the report; or alternatively to refer the report back to officers and request that further analysis and information is provided.

Resolved that (1) the complaint related activity during 2021-22, as set out in the Annual Complaints Report (Appendix 1), be noted;

(2) the Report be approved for publication on the Authority’s website from 12 December 2022; and

(3) the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Review of complaints concerning North Tyneside Council for 2021-22 (Appendix2), be noted.

(Reasons for decision: All local authorities providing ‘social service functions’ including North Tyneside Council are legally required to publish an annual report on complaints received.)