Agenda item

The Housing Service Manager’s report provided the Board with information on formal complaints received in relation to the housing service for the period April 2019 – March 2020.  Formal complaints were monitored carefully, using them to learn from and improve services wherever possible.

At present the Housing Service dealt with formal complaints through the corporate complaints two stage process:

·         Stage 1 -     complaints considered by the Strategic Lead

·         Stage 2 -     complaints considered by the Deputy Chief Executive/Monitoring Officer

If customers were still not satisfied they could take their complaint to the Housing Ombudsman.  They could do this by waiting eight weeks from the date of the Council’s final response letter and then approaching the Housing Ombudsman themselves, or by contacting a Designated Person.  The Designated Person could be an MP, a local district councillor, or the Designated Tenant Complaints Panel (DTCP), which was a group of tenants supported by an administrative officer and the Housing Services Manager.  Most of the complainants who chose to contact a Designated Person chose the Designated Tenant Complaints Panel, favouring the view of their peers in terms of reviewing the council’s decision on their case.

Tenants were given information about how complaints were dealt with in general in the Annual Report to tenants each October. 

The Housing Services Manager reported that between April 2019 and March 2020, 52 formal housing complaints were received.  15 of these went on from stage 1 to stage 2.

It was agreed that better communication was needed from Housing Officers in responding to queries from tenants to effectively manage customer expectations.  Failure to do this caused customers to complain again, and the focus then moved to dealing with complaints rather than delivery of the service.

Details of the areas of complaints were given in the report. It was noted that there had been an increase in more complex antisocial behaviour complaints since the easing of lockdown restrictions.  A new Ombudsman code of conduct was being consulted on and code produced.  Landlords were being asked to self-assess against the code by 31 December 2020.  It was advocated that the ‘designated person’ provision be removed from the complaints processes, but that ‘designated complaints panels’ be kept, although not as a mandatory part of the process.

Members asked for clarity on when the new code would come into place and also expressed concern over the removal of the ‘designated person’.  The Housing Services Manager replied that the new code would come into effect from 1 January 2021.

RECOMMENDED:  that Cabinet approve:

1. that the Housing Leadership Team re-iterate the importance of outstanding customer care, considering additional training and awareness opportunities where appropriate.
2. that the Housing Operational Managers group reviews processes to ensure they are effectively co-ordinating responses and updates on formal complaints and councillor enquiries raised with them.
3. that the Housing Services Manager works with the council’s Information and Complaints Officer, and customers on the Designated Tenant Complaints Panel, to self-assess against the ombudsman’s new code by 31 December 2020.
4. that the Housing Services Manager ensures that better communication is given from Housing Officers in responding to queries from tenants to effectively manage expectations of customers. 

RESOLVED:  that the Housing Review Board note the contents of the report.