Issue - meetings

Report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services

The Service Manager – Corporate Services presented a report that summarised the customer feedback relating to both complaints and compliments received by residents during 2021/22 and provided the Group with a comparison to previous years performance.

The Group were informed that during 2021/22 the Council received 57 complaints at stage 1 of the complaints process, and it was noted that this was a slight increase compared to recent years and considered to be caused by additional pressures on Council services caused by the pandemic. The percentage of complaints escalated to stage 2 was 12 from the 57.

The Group noted the subjects for complaints were as follows:

·       Planning applications/decision (5)

·       Environmental Health enforcement (2)

·       Environmental Health officer visit (1)

·       Housing allocation (1)

·       Homelessness (1)

·       Council Tax (1)

·       Planning officer conduct (1)

The Service Manager - Corporate Services reported that response to complaints remained consistent, as were the number of complaints responded to within target time. The Group were advised that during 2021/22 the Local Government Ombudsman |(LGO) received 10 complaints in respect of services offered by Rushcliffe Borough Council, the LGO issued decisions on 7 of the complaints, 3 were referred back to the Council for local resolution and 4 were closed after initial enquiries.  The Group noted that the Council performs well in comparison to other authorities.

The Group were advised that the Council received 127 compliments about its services in 2021/22, noting this was 28 fewer than the previous year.  

A question was raised in respect of compensation payments and how would they be justified. The Service Manager – Corporate Services explained that compensation would be considered if it was felt that the claimant had been disadvantaged or were ‘out of pocket’. The Group were advised that the Council had not received any compensation claims.

It was RESOLVED that the report be accepted as a true record of customer feedback in 2021/22.