Issue - meetings
Annual Complaint Report 2019/20
Meeting: 12/01/2021 - Cabinet (Item 9)
9 Annual Complaint Report 2019/20 
PDF 198 KB
This report outlines the Council’s performance in addressing complaints for the period April 2019 to March 2020.
Additional documents:
- 9a. Appendix A - Adult Social Care Statutory Complaints Annual Report 2019-20, item 9
PDF 884 KB
- 9b. Appendix B - Children & Young People Statutory Complaints Annual Report 2019-20, item 9
PDF 1011 KB
- 9c. Appendix C - Root Cause Complaints Annual Report 2019-20, item 9
PDF 793 KB
- 9d. Appendix D - Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code & Self-Assessment, item 9
PDF 601 KB
Decision:
Cabinet RESOLVED
(1) To note Brent’s performance in managing and resolving complaints.
(2) To note the comments in the Council’s self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Code in Appendix D of the report.
Minutes:
Councillor McLennan, as Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Resources, introduced the report on complaints performance at the Council for the period April 2019 to March 2020. The report focused on the nature of complaints and the learning that they provided to inform the Council’s future approach to service improvement.
Members noted the introduction of a new CRM – Microsoft Dynamics complaints management system in November 2020 and the key headlines for complaints performance in 2019/20 as detailed within section 3.4 of the report. Whilst the number of Stage 1 complaints (corporate and statutory) had decreased there had been an increase in Stage 2 complaints (corporate and statutory) with the top three root causes of complaints relating to housing repairs, parking and council tax/recovery.
Members noted the remedial actions which had been established to address these issues alongside the specific work being undertaken within the Housing Management Service to implement new measures to improve complaints handling linked to the introduction of the new Housing Ombudsmen Code.
In response, Councillor Southwood, as Lead Member for Housing and Welfare, acknowledged the increase in Stage 2 complaints within Housing Management Services and assured members of the steps being taken to address the issues highlighted both in terms of service delivery as well as complaints handling. Members also recognised the progress made by the Council in seeking to offer fair and appropriate remedies, including the use of compensation where warranted.
Having considered the Annual Report, Cabinet RESOLVED:
(1) To note the Council’s performance in managing and receiving complaints.
(2) To note the comments in the Council’s self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Code in Appendix D of the report.