Agenda item

Resolved: that the report be noted. A request was made for a diagram of the complaints/casework process to be provided for all councillors. The Committee also resolved that it would ask the Housing Select Committee to consider the effectiveness of Lewisham’s Homesearch website.

4.1      Georgina Chambers (Corporate Casework, Complaints and Information Manager) introduced the report. The following key points were noted:

·         There had been a 33% increase in complaints between the years 2015/16 and 2016/17. This was as a result of the ongoing savings programme.

·         The number of complaints represented a small proportion of the contacts the Council had with residents.

·         The three most frequently complained about services were: highways, environment and housing needs.

·         Increases in complaints had been generated by: the new controlled parking zone programme, changes to the housing allocations process and fly tipping/street cleansing.

·         Complaints about the new waste collection process were not captured in the report because the service had begun in 2017/18 and the report covered the period of 2016/17.

·         Some recent increase in waste collection reports had been noticed, however, it was believed that these were as a result of the initial ‘teething period’ for the new service and the number of complaints had already begun to reduce.

·         Officers had been working closely with the ombudsman service to improve the way the Council responded to complaints.

4.2      Georgina Chambers responded to questions from the Committee, the following key points were noted:

·         An updated version of iCasework would in place from April it would include new functionality as well as an area for councillors and improved reporting features.

·         The delay in some responses from the corporate casework team had been caused by the reorganisation of the division as well as the induction of new staff and the increase of the team’s workload to cover additional functions.

·         In the past couple of months the service had improved on the speed of its responses.

·         The new system of informal/formal complaints would start in the new year.

·         Officers were working to ensure that the quality of responses was consistently high. The casework team had developed a process to challenge services on their responses and had developed a review process to learn from issues as they arose.

·         The concerns that were raised by the ombudsman were a key focus for the corporate complaints and casework team.

·         Officers had not received many complaints about contacting the Council by telephone.

·         The ‘call back’ system that was in place seemed to be working well.

·         Members were invited to contact Georgina with specific concerns about casework/complaints.

4.3       In the Committee discussion, the following key points were also noted:

·         There were concerns about the difficulties some residents faced in accessing Council services by phone.

·         Members tended to contact officers directly rather than raise casework via the corporate team.

·         Some responses from the corporate complaints team were lacking in detail and/or accurate information.

·         There was a difference in opinion about the format that responses from the complaints team should take. Some members felt responses should be in a format that was ready to send to residents others believed that officers should provide information that councillors could use to draft their own letters.

·         Members were concerned about the functionality of Lewisham’s housing options system. Specifically, there were concerns about the ease of use of the Homesearch website and the openness of the bidding and decision making processes.

·         Members shared examples of times they had contacted officers for help dealing with casework. Their experiences were mixed.

·         The Council might benefit from a business process review to streamline services.

·         It was difficult to raise concerns out of hours.

4.4      Resolved: that the report be noted. A request was made for a diagram of the complaints/casework process to be provided for all councillors. The Committee also resolved that it would ask the Housing Select Committee to consider the effectiveness of Lewisham’s Homesearch website.