Issue - meetings

The Head of Information, Customer and Parking Services submitted the annual report summarising the comments, compliments and complaints (3Cs) received by the Council between April 2014 and March 2015.  The report highlighted the key issues, remedial action and learning arising from the 3Cs.  The report also presented actions in respect of 3Cs for 2015/16.

Members were advised that the Council had received a very low level of formal complaints with 95 recorded in 2014/15.  The Committee considered this figure in the context of the 250,000 telephone calls that Customer Services had received during this period.

The Head of Information, Customer and Parking Services advised that the number of Stage 2 complaints was also low and the Council’s customers had a clear preference for raising complaints in writing with e-mail use continuing to increase as the main source of complaints.  The Authority no longer provided printed complaint forms due to a lack of demand although customers could print the form from the Council’s website.

The Committee was advised that details of corrective and improvement action could be found in Essential Reference Paper ‘C’ of the report submitted.  Members were further advised that 6 complaints had been raised with the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) regarding East Herts Council and of these, only one complaint had been investigated and the Council was found not to be at fault.

Councillor J Wyllie stressed that the Authority must cater for customers who had no access to a computer and e-mail.  He referred to the stage 2 complaint regarding the false statement made by an East Herts Council Press Officer.  He stressed that such statements should never be allowed to be issued.  The Director of Finance and Support Services undertook to pick up this matter with Corporate Management Team (CMT).  She also undertook to provide details of the process through which press releases are signed off by senior officers, in the Members Information Bulletin (MIB).

Councillor K Brush commented on how comments, compliments and complaints were captured via twitter and other forms of social media.  The Head of Information Customer and Parking Services advised that if Communications became aware of a compliment, comment or complaint on social media all further interaction on that issue was switched to a more appropriate medium such as e-mail.  The Committee received the report.

RESOLVED – that the report and actions in respect of ‘Comments, Compliments and Complaints’ be received.