Agenda item

Report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services

The Assistant Director for Corporate Services presented the Annual Customer Feedback report which provided comparisons to previous performance. The key points included:

·       64 complaints overall at stage 1 of the process (the highest in the last five years)

·       28% escalation to stage 2 of the Council’s complaints process

·       No investigations or decisions from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman

·       The Council received 196 compliments about its services in 2024/25. These were more focused on visible services such as refuse collection and street cleaning

The Assistant Director for Corporate Services informed the Group that the Council had already received the same number of complaints as for 2024/25 in the first 6 months of 2025/26. She added that whilst some complaints had escalated to the Ombudsman, none had yet been investigated or decided upon.

The Group were asked to note this should be seen as a positive and that residents are fin ding our customer feedback process more accessible and should be considered to be a healthy sign of engagement.

Councillor Parekh was pleased to see a good number of compliments, however with regards to complaints she asked if there were any particular service areas or themes for complaints. The Assistant Director for Corporate Services advised that there has been an increase in complaints around Council Tax and enforcement in particular. She added, that whilst she understood Councillors concerns about the increase of complaints in relation to Council Tax, none of these complaints had been upheld by the Council or the Ombudsman and that scrutiny around this issue has been proposed and accepted for Communities Scrutiny Group next year.

Councillor Combellack referred to vexatious complaints and how these are dealt with in the process and whether vexatious complaints have increased.  The Assistant Director for Corporate Services explained that the Council has a policy in place to address vexatious complaints and remain open and honest when dealing with such complaints.

Councillor Combellack asked how Rushcliffe compares with other authorities in respect of complaints. It was noted there is currently no benchmarking.

Councillor Simms asked a specific question around the percentage of complaints that escalate to the Local Government Ombudsman and how many complaints were upheld. The Assistant Director for Corporate Services advised that she could recall only one complaint that had occurred four years ago that had been upheld.

Councillor Gaunt commented that it was positive to see an increase in the number of complaints and that this shows the complaints procedure is working, adding that this provides the Council with opportunities to improve its services in the long term. In addition, the Chair advised that there had been an upgrade to the Council’s website making it easier for residents to find where to raise a complaint. He also asked whether Councillors are provided with any feedback from complaints in their wards. The Assistant Director for Corporate Services advised that most complaints are dealt with by officers in the relevant service area. However, there had been one complaint around asylum dispersal where the ward Councillors has got involved and a Scrutiny request has been submitted for approval.

It was RESOLVED that the Corporate Overview Group:

a)    Scrutinised and commented on the data provided in relation to customer feedback on 2024/25

b)    Considered whether the data in specific areas requires further investigation or scrutiny