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Agenda item

Customer Complaints Policy & Procedure

Purpose:

The report presents a new customer complaints policy and process which complies with the new Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code for Member authorisation, and a revised Staff Personal Safety Policy

 

Recommendation:

That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to:

1.    Approve the implementation of the new Customer Complaints Policy and Procedure.

2.    Note the revised Staff Personal Safety Policy.

 

Invited:

Cheryl Sloan - Business Manager, Governance, Risk & Business Continuity

 

 

 

Minutes:

Andrea McCaskie, Director of Governance, presented a new customer complaints policy and process which complied with the new Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code for Member authorisation, and a revised Staff Personal Safety Policy.

In February 2024, following a consultation process, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (’the Ombudsman’) had launched a new Complaint Handling Code (‘the Code’). The purpose of the Code was to enable organisations to resolve complaints raised by individuals promptly, and to use the data and learning from complaints to drive service improvements. It would also help to create a positive complaint handling culture amongst staff and individuals.

Local councils were encouraged to adopt the Code as soon as they were able to do so. The Ombudsman intended to start considering the Code as part of their processes from April 2026 to give local councils the opportunity to adopt the Code successfully into working practices. In addition, during the first two years the Ombudsman would be working with a number of pilot councils to understand the impact of the Code and provide further guidance to the sector.

The new West Oxfordshire District Council Complaints Policy and Procedure (’the Policy’) had been written in conjunction with the new Code and would ensure that the Council is compliant with the Code ahead of April 2026. Also included was a revised Staff Personal Safety Policy which feeds into this Policy and was recommended by the Ombudsman. The recommendation was to implement the new Policy from 1 April 2025.

Based on various questions and queries from Members the following points were explained:

  • A generic email address for complaints would be created to ensure all complaints could be directed there.
  • The volumes and categories of complaints would be measured to see if there were any trends and patterns to determine where/if any changes were required to prevent further complaints where possible.
  • A Complaints Report would be provided to the Committee every 6 months.
  • An explanation would be provided on why missed bin collections were not recorded as complaints to the Committee.
  • Further information would be provided on the personal register including the history of when it was created. the protection of the register, its efficiency, whether there would be an external and an internal one, how Members would be notified who was on the list and if GDPR would be applied, how data protection would be undertaken and articulated, and whether the register itself would be renamed.
  • Members welcomed an All Member Briefing/ Training session on Councillor safety.
  • Information around consent to being filmed was included on the front sheet of meeting agenda packs; going forward, signs would also be added to entrance doors where meetings were being held.

 

Councillor Carl Rylett proposed that the recommendations be approved and Councillor Andrew Beaney seconded. This proposal was agreed by the Committee.

RESOLVED that the Audit and Governance Committee AGREED to:

1.    Approve the implementation of the new Customer Complaints Policy and Procedure.

2.    Note the revised Staff Personal Safety Policy.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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