At the November Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, members had an opportunity to review the Annual Complaints Report for 2012-13.
Chair of the Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Geoff Lumley said Cllr Conrad Gauntlett had (assisted by Cllr Fuller), “done some excellent work on this.”
Complaints about primary schools
Cllr Gauntlett sought reassurance that complaints made in relation to Primary Schools were being dealt with effectively.
Leader of the council, Ian Stephens, advised that some reports from the past had re-surfaced – as (he said) they’d been moved sideways by the previous council – but assured Cllr Gauntlett they were now being dealt with.
The relevant senior officer offered to provide a full written answer to Cllr Gauntlett on the issue.
Highways complaints
The subject of whether complaints in relation to highways issues and Island Roads would be transparent was also raised.
Strategic Director, Stuart Love, advised the Committee that the first point of contact for complaints is through Island Roads rather than council, but that officers do receive details from Island Roads each month – in fact it is included in Cllr Gilbey’s Cabinet report – he said.
He went on to advise that he was working with the Economy and Environment Scrutiny Panel chair (Cllr Fuller) to ensure that half-yearly reports are provided to the Panel setting out Island Roads’ performance, including enquiries and complaints received.
Complaints about service cuts
Complaints made about political decisions which have led to cuts in a service are not able to be be dealt with by council officers, but instead are referred to the relevant cabinet member and/or their local councillor.
The report states that this was a “particular issue for the 2012/13 year with examples relating to Tourist Information Centres, toilets and libraries.”
The Annual Report
The report found that compared to the previous year, the number of complaints made about the council had reduced.
The record of complaints does not include complaints made in relation to the following statutory services
- Adult Social Services
- Children’s Services
- Councillors
- Individual Schools
Statistical highlights
As you’ll see from the embedded report below, the information provided is largely statistical in nature.
Highlights include:
- 590 complaints received. A 16% decrease over last year and continuing the trend of reducing numbers over the last four years.
- 30% upheld or partially upheld against the target of 40%. This represents a decrease of 5% from last year. The figure for fully upheld complaints stands at 21% which is less than a quarter of the total complaints received.
- 12 cases at stage 2. This is 55% less than last year. Evidence that by putting the stage two process back into services has resulted in better and more comprehensive responses being sent at stage one. Training and support to NCOs may also be a contributing factor. This represents a substantial saving to the council in terms of officer time spent investigating stage 2 complaints.
- 31% of complaints had recorded learning outcomes. This is a 4% reduction over last year.
Adult and Children’s Social care
According to the report, statutory complaints for Adult and Children’s Social care are required to be reported on in some detail and these will be presented to the relevant committees or boards when they are available later in the year.
Reduction in processed complaints
The report goes on to say that 31 IWC complaints were processed during the year, adding that this is a 42% reduction compared to the previous year and 15% below the average number of complaints received compared with other unitary authorities.
Summary of LGO complaints:
- Two maladministration and injustice reports were issued against the Council;
- One concerning children’s services where a remedy of £7250.00 was agreed and the other in connection with a planning case were officers failed to consult local residents as instructed by committee. A time and trouble payment of £250.00 was awarded.
In both cases the services have carried out a thorough review of their practices and procedures. The council paid out a total of £9,600 in compensation for Ombudsman cases during the 2012/13 financial year.
