To receive the report.

Nikki Craig, Head of HR, Corporate Projects and IT, gave the Panel a brief summary of the report. The report looked at the period March 2019 – April 2020. Over 2,100 contacts had been made with 400 of those being progressed as formal complaints. The main reason for a complaint was a lack of action, with 51% of complaints regarding this as the overriding reason for the complaint being made. Around 64% of complaints had been processed within timescales, which was an increase from the previous year. When a complaint was received, the complaint could either be upheld, partially upheld or not upheld. 61% of all complaints were either upheld or partially upheld, with learnings taken by the team on each complaint.

If a resident remained unsatisfied with RBWMs complaints process, they could take the case to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. In 19/20, there were 49 decision made by the ombudsman.

Looking at compliments, RBWM received 555 compliments in 18/19 which was reduced to 440 in 19/20.

The Chairman commented on the lack of action being the main reason for complaints and asked what officers were doing to try and resolve this. He also asked how the learning process took place and whether the person who made the mistake was informed.

Nikki Craig explained that the report came to Heads of Service on a quarterly basis, with each area being looked at carefully. Team meetings and training were important to ensuring that lessons were learnt for the future.

Councillor Werner said that it was good to see the ‘lessons learned’ section on the report. He asked what made a complaint a complaint and how they were therefore counted and recorded.

Nikki Craig said that there were a number of different tools that could be used to submit a complaint and that it did not need to come in a form, complaints could also be received by email or by written submission. Complaints made through all methods were logged.

Councillor Werner further asked if there was a figure for the total number of complaints and also if there was any encouragement to residents who had complained to go through the process and submit a formal complaint.

Nikki Craig responded by explaining that the total number of complaints made was the total number of contacts that had been stated in the report. It usually depended on what the complaint was about, but a resident wanting to make a complaint was usually a conscious decision to do so.

Councillor Walters noted that non-statutory complaints were also included as part of the annual report and wondered if other local authorities also did this. He also asked if it was worth the time compiling this report each year.

He was informed that the information in the report let officers know what the issues were and what lessons could be learnt. The data was held centrally so the report was easy to put together. Referring to other authorities, this did vary as there was not a consistent way of reporting. It was statutory for RBWM to report Adults and Children complaints but not any of the other areas.

Councillor Rayner, Lead Member for Resident & Leisure Services, HR, IT, Legal, Performance Management & Windsor, said that RBWM was learning all the time and was currently undergoing a change of culture where things would be open and transparent. She said that officers were keen to resolve any complaints as quickly as possible.

Councillor Sharpe asked if there were any complaints that were important or significant, or potentially a cause for concern.

Nikki Craig said that all the data from 19/20 had already been through the Corporate Leadership Team and anything significant was highlighted and actions were taken.

Councillor L Jones said that there was significant staff turnover and queried what was RBWM putting in place to help slow turnover.

Nikki Craig explained that staff turnover was relatively low at just under 15%. There had been some areas that had been a challenge but this tended to be because of national shortages in certain roles. Any areas that were a concern then the team would work with managers to come up with a solution.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY; That Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel notes the report and:

i)             That the report is published on the Council’s website.

ii)            That the annual report continues to be produced and presented at Overview and Scrutiny panels.