Agenda item

Issues Raised by the Committee:

Responses Received from Officers and Cabinet Members:

More trend analysis around the number of days taken to respond to a complaint and whether the figures shown for the year 2023-2024 were an improvement on the year 2022-2023 was requested.

ACTION officers would provide the information to Committee.

It was noted that an improvement in the number of compliments received was only true when comparing data of the last two years. However, over the last five years, the actual number of compliments had decreased. 

The officer agreed that there was an improvement in the number of compliments received when compared to the last year.

Was benchmarking being conducted regarding the number and themes of complaints?

Assurance was given that benchmarking was undertaken, and Powys County Council was in line with other Local Authorities across Wales regarding timeliness for completing the complaints process.

ACTION More information would be provided to the Committee regarding benchmarking figures for complaints.

As communication was a theme in the complaints received, the Committee suggested that the theme was broken down further, to improve understanding.

The Committee asked to see examples of complaints received, in the same way examples of compliments had been presented.

ACTION It was agreed that this would be a valuable addition to the report.

Did staff receive training around communication skills and how were skills being improved?

Communication training was being given to staff. Reviews were taking place around the accessibility of information and how feedback was given around processes and agreed actions.

A new letter had been designed by the Assist Team that would feedback outcomes from conversations that were had at the front door.

Clarification was sought around the target of 15 days to respond to a first level complaint taking 22 days.

And an explanation was sought regarding the increase in response time for stage two complaints.

The response times on the report had been checked and were accurate.

The reasoning response times increased for stage two complaints was due to the complexity of the issues and the processes involving numerous Council Services.

Was the 25-day response for stage two complaints realistic?

Assurance was given that management staff attended a national group, where regular conversations were held regarding this gap between the target and the actual performance achieved. It was reported that other Local Authorities were in the same position and the target was known to be unrealistic.

What was the process involving officers for those wishing to make a grievance?

Discussions had been undertaken to understand how conversations were approached and how the complaints process worked to ensure the right outcome.

It had been discussed with Policy and Customer Care Manager (Social Services and Wellbeing) and Complaints Officer (Social Services and Wellbeing), and staff would encourage people to use the complaints process as it was a protective process that allowed for transparency and rigorous investigation of issues raised. Assurance was given that issues raised would be investigated with equal rigour to formal complaints.

What would be the consequences of complaints that were upheld or partially upheld?

Would additional learning be provided, or disciplinary action taken?

It was explained that each case was considered individually and could include changes to operations, processes, or further investigation.

More detailed information around the

‘Failure to carry out agreed action’ was requested by Committee to ensure lessons learned.

ACTION –Officers would provide information to Committee. 

Regarding the breakdown of complaints received, was the theme of ‘Provider Complaint’ in adult services due to a shortage of care providers, or was it more of a personal complaint?

It could be a variety of things, including the unavailability of care, the performance of a provider, timeliness etc.