Annual housing complaints report 2023-24

Statement by the Member Responsible for Complaints

Response to the annual complaints performance and service improvement report

The annual complaints performance and service improvement report demonstrates the need for the council to improve on its handling of complaints.

Through the council's self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman's Complaints Handling Code, areas for improvement have been identified.

The Housing Board will scrutinise performance and challenge officers to improve in the coming year.

Cllr Arthur Coote
Portfolio Holder for Housing
Chair Housing Board

Introduction

This new report aims to keep you informed about the complaints we received and how we have responded. It is a requirement of the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code that we publish this report.

A complaint is defined as "an expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents".

We always aim to provide a high-quality service and expect our staff, our suppliers and our contractors to work to the highest possible standards. However, sometimes things do go wrong and you may be dissatisfied with the service you receive.

We have taken the time to listen and understand the experience of our customers and investigated when standards have not been met. We have welcomed feedback about how we are doing and what we can improve.

We have managed complaints in a positive, confidential and transparent way, keeping customers informed throughout the process.

We're striving to improve our learning outcomes and have put things in place to ensure that this happens in the future. 

In line with the Housing Ombudsman Code, this report sets out:

• our annual self-assessment 
• complaint handling performance 
• non-compliance against the code
• service improvements and learning outcomes 

Annual self-assessment

Every year, we carry out a self-assessment to measure our performance against the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code.

Read our latest self-assessment report.
 

Complaints received in 2023/24

We received 110 new complaints in 2023/24 (this is the same amount as in the previous year).

Of these, 95 were resolved during Stage 1 of our complaints process (86%). This is a slight drop from the 90% that were resolved at Stage 1 last year. The remaining 15 complaints were escalated to Stage 2.

We responded to 51 Stage 1 complaints within the Housing Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code timescales (46%), and two Stage 2 complaints within the timescales (13%).

Most of the complaints that we received related to the repairs and maintenance service - 86 of the 110 that went to Stage 1 and 10 of the 15 that were escalated to Stage 2.

As part of our efforts to improve in this area, we have a new in-house team that oversees the quality and efficiency of our repairs service. There is also a weekly meeting where complaints and the progress being made are reviewed.

In addition, we have established an officer-led complaints improvement panel that is looking at new ways in which we can improve our compliance with the Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code - with the overall goal to improve the service we offer our tenants.

We are currently in the process of procuring a new service provider for repairs and maintenance. This is being conducted under very strict guidelines which will lead to an improved service. The new model will be in place from April 2025.

Types of complaints that we received and how they were handled

Here is the list of the types of complaints that we received and how they were handled in 2023/2

Complaints to the Housing Ombudsman

We received one case from the Housing Ombudsman in 2023/24. All the information requested was submitted and we are awaiting determination.

We received a determination on a case from 2022/23. The Ombudsman found that we had not dealt with a repairs service request adequately, including the way we had handled the complaint. The tenant received £1,300 in compensation.

Non-compliance with the Housing Ombudsman Code

There are certain things we have had to do to meet the Housing Ombudsman Code.

Last year, we reported on complaints in our tenants and leaseholders annual report 2022-23.. However, under the code, complaints performance and service improvements must be reported separately - that is why we have produced this new report.

This report will also be presented to the Housing Board.

Learning outcomes and service improvements

We have introduced several learning outcomes because of the complaints we received in 2023/24.

These were:

• re-training for staff on housing allocations software system to ensure all data is correctly prioritised
• housing officers advised to respond to tenant enquiries in a timely manner
• improvements made to ensure appropriate works are carried out as scheduled once remedial repair issues have been identified
• training for all staff involved in responding to complaints on letter writing skills to improve quality, content and style

We'll also be creating a new monthly complaints dashboard, and this will be shared at Housing Board and Tenants & Leaseholder Panel meetings.

We will continue to strive for good practice in line with the Housing Ombudsman's guidance and use the complaints we receive in a positive way to shape the services we provide to our tenants.

Published on website: 26 September 2024