The Director of Housing submitted a report to seek the approval of the Annual Complaint Performance & Service Improvement Report (Landlord Services) 2024/25.

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.    Agree the content of the Annual Complaint Performance & Service Improvement Report (Landlord Services) 2024/25 in Appendix 1.

2.    Provide a formal response to the Annual Complaint Performance & Service Improvement Report 2024/25.

The Director of Housing had submitted a report to seek the approval of the Annual Complaint Performance & Service Improvement Report (Landlord Services) 2024/25.

Kat Mayes, the Customer Care & Complaints Manager, presented the report. She said that this was a report that they produce annually, as a requirement from the housing ombudsman. It is required that they publish this report and that they have a response from Cabinet. She highlighted the challenges they had faced in the previous year and discussed the measures they had taken to correct the causes of these issues.

Bill Graves, the Landlord Services Manager, highlighted the exceptional work that the Customer Care & Complaints Manager had done to cover when they’d had a shortage of staff and the work they had done since to improve the situation. He said that they expected to be fully up to speed with responses to complaints by the beginning of July.

Councillor Smith presented the Cabinet’s response to the report, also published in the agenda pack.

As a Cabinet, she said that they once again welcomed the publication of this report as part of their commitment to transparency and their determination to ensure the views of citizens help shape their services.  

The Customer Care & Complaints team within Landlord Services had faced capacity problems in 2024/25, resulting in the published figures around response times for complaints. She said that they were pleased to note that action had already been taken to increase staff in this area and work was being closely monitored, they expect to see a marked improvement in this area as they progress into 2025/26, alongside an increase in customer satisfaction with their handling of complaints. 

Cabinet also noted the service improvements that had been made throughout the Council and by their contractor, ODS, and will be interested to see the longer-term impact of these on the complaints figures for 2025/26. 

The Housing Ombudsman determinations are an interesting addition to this year’s report, as there were none for last year other than the Complaints Handling Failure Order that the Council regrettably received. Whilst they would like to see a mutually agreed resolution to complaints as early as possible within the process without Ombudsman intervention, these determinations provide a valuable external review of their complaints service and inform them as to whether the Council is meeting the Housing Ombudsman’s expectations.  

This year’s report includes some of the further insight into the types of complaint received and the root causes that they requested last year. Cabinet expected this to continue and for opportunities for deeper analysis to be explored. 

Their residents are at the heart of their services, and the plans to expand their involvement in the complaints service and seek their feedback will be a welcome step towards greater transparency, accountability, and co-regulation.  

 Although parts of this report were not positive, such as the percentage of complaints responded to within target and the findings of maladministration by the Housing Ombudsman, there had also been positive progress in several areas. Cabinet accepted the assurances given that steps have been taken to address issues, and they expected to see evidence that these had succeeded by the time the next annual report is produced.  

Cabinet said that they would like to thank all of those within to Council who assisted with the investigation and resolution of complaints, as well as all of the citizens who had taken the time to raise issues and provide their views.  

Councillor Brown thanked the complaints team and the Customer Care & Complaints Manager for their work in the difficult year. She thanked them for the improvements that already had been made. Councillor Brown said that they welcome these reports as it is was important for them to learn from the feedback their receive, as that is how they can improve the services.

Cabinet resolved to:

1. Agree the content of the Annual Complaint Performance & Service Improvement Report (Landlord Services) 2024/25 in Appendix 1.
2. Provide a formal response to the Annual Complaint Performance & Service Improvement Report 2024/25.