Issue - meetings

This report provides the annual review of complaints received and decisions made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman during 2022-2023.

The Committee received a report providing the annual review of complaints received and decisions made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman during 2022-2023.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Ombudsman Complaints. A Member of the Committee agreed with the decision to move the responsibility of dealing with Ombudsman complaints from the Customer Service Team to the Business Support Team. The Member asked about the issues experienced by the Ombudsman regarding problems communicating with the Customer Service Team and if there is still an ongoing issue with the Customer Service Team and failing to follow up with complaints. The Interim Director of Corporate Services responded to state that the Customer Service Team deals with a large volume of Stage 1, or minor, complaints, of which a small percentage of complaints get escalated to Stage 2, and an even smaller amount get escalated further to the Ombudsman. The Interim Director of Corporate Services informed the Committee that the Customer Service team is fast-paced and busy dealing with many customers and chasing for and providing responses within 15 days. Due to only a very small number of complaints going to the Ombudsman, some have historically gotten lost or missed amongst the higher number of Stage 1 and 2 complaints. The Interim Director of Corporate Services explained that the responsibility now lies with the Business Support Team where there are people who can give exclusive focus to complaints that go to the Ombudsman.

b)            2021/22 LGO Review Letter. A Member of the Committee asked the Chair why the 2021/22 LGO Review Letter was not taken to the November 2022 or February 2023 Audit and Scrutiny Meetings once the letter was received by the Chief Executive and the Chair, but instead was taken to the April 2023 Audit and Scrutiny Meeting. A second Member of the Committee also asked why there was such a long delay in bringing the report to a meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee. The Chair responded to reassure the Committee and residents that nothing was being hidden and accepts that it should have been dealt with in a timelier fashion. The Chair went on to explain thatas stated in the Committee workplans prior to April 2023, the information and content of the letter was in the public domain and could be found on the LGO website andvia the link provided in the Workplan reports prior to April 2023, where from that point the LGO Review Letter was brought to the Committee as a separate standalone report.

c)            Service review. A Member of the Committee asked why there was a six-month delay in initiating a Service review, once the 2021/22 LGO Review Letter was received. A Service Review was initiated on February 1, 2023. A further question was raised by the Member querying why the A&S Committee were not involved in supervisingand scrutinising the decision to initiate and carry out a service review. The Chair informed the Committee that there was not enough time  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63