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.
| Self-assessment question | Answer | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Does the complaints process use the above definition of a complaint? | Yes | See Complaints Procedure, the definition is very similar as defined by the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman when the Policy was first drafted in 2012. |
| Does the policy have exclusions where a complaint will not be considered? | Yes | N/A |
| Are these exclusions reasonable and fair to residents? | Yes | Paragraph 2.1.6 – 2.1.10 of the Complaints Procedure. This includes • complaints revolving around Council policy, • a complaint that has already been dealt with at all stages of the procedure, • a complaint made more than 1 year after the grounds to make representation arose • it may prejudice legal proceedings • anonymous complaints |
| Self-assessment question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are multiple accessibility routes available for residents to make a complaint? | Yes |
| Is the complaints policy and procedure available online? | Yes |
| Do we have a reasonable adjustments policy? | Yes |
| Do we regularly advise residents about our complaints process? | Yes |
| Self-assessment question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Is there a complaint officer or equivalent in post? | Yes |
| Does the complaint officer have autonomy to resolve complaints? | Yes |
| Does the complaint officer have authority to compel engagement from other departments to resolve disputes? | Yes |
| If there is a third stage to the complaints procedure are residents involved in the decision making? | No third stage |
| Is any third stage optional for residents? | No |
| Does the final stage response set out residents’ right to refer the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service? | Yes |
| Do we keep a record of complaint correspondence including correspondence from the resident? | Yes |
| At what stage are most complaints resolved? | Stage 1 |
| Self-assessment question | Answer | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Are residents kept informed and updated during the complaints process? | Yes | N/A |
| Are residents informed of the landlord’s position and given a chance to respond and challenge any area of dispute before the final decision? | No | After stage 1 they can request a stage 2 |
| Are all complaints acknowledged and logged within five days? | Yes | N/A |
| Are residents advised of how to escalate at the end of each stage? | Yes | N/A |
| What proportion of complaints are resolved at stage one? | 44.6% | N/A |
| What proportion of complaints are resolved at stage two? | 58.3% | N/A |
| What proportion of complaint responses are sent within Code timescales? | 43.7% (stage 1 with exclusion) 16.7% (stage 2 with exclusion) | N/A |
| Where timescales have been extended did we have good reason? | ||
| Where timescales have been extended did we keep the resident informed? | Yes | N/A |
| What proportion of complaints do we resolve to residents’ satisfaction? | 35.7% | N/A |
| Self-assessment question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Were all requests for evidence responded to within 15 days? | Yes |
| Where the timescale was extended did we keep the Ombudsman informed? | Yes |
| Self-assessment question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Are residents able to complain via a representative throughout? | Yes |
| If advice was given, was this accurate and easy to understand? | Yes |
| How many cases did we refuse to escalate? | This is not measured – however we would only refuse to escalate those who fall into the categories in point 1 |
| What was the reason for the refusal? | Outside of the scope of the Complaints Procedure as listed in point 1 |
| Outside of the scope of the Complaints Procedure as listed in point 1 | Did we explain our decision to the resident? |
| Self-assessment question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where something has gone wrong are we taking appropriate steps to put things right? | Yes |
| Self-assessment question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What improvements have we made as a result of learning from complaints? | What improvements have we made as a result of learning from complaints? Our Repairs Quality Forum has a regular agenda item to review complaints and identify learning. Changes that have been made or are being made as a result of learning from complaints include: • Reviewing the way work orders are managed to encourage operatives to complete work in one go and keep tenants informed when materials have to be ordered. • Allocating specific tasks to helpdesk staff to track materials on order. • Employed a quality assurance officer to independently inspect work prioritising areas where complaints have been made. • Amended our Kitchen Fitters Risk Assessment with regard to identifying gas pipes following a leak at one property. • Trialling PIV systems instead of traditional extractor fans in response to complaints about mould and condensation |
| How do we share these lessons with residents? | the Tenant Scrutiny Panel receives completes information both as part of their scoping exercise to identify areas for further investigation and as part of each investigation carried out. In addition articles are included in our tenant newsletter, Housing News and the Annual report |
| How do we share these lessons with the board/governing body | |
| Do we share these lessons in the Annual Report? | Yes |
| Has the Code made a difference to how we respond to complaints? | Letters have been amended to reflect the new code. We are in the process of reviewing how best to adopt to the Code within the current corporate complaints procedure, This has to be agreed with Members and Senior Managers. We will look to repeat the self assessment following the review in 6 months |
| What changes have we made? | This is to be confirmed once the review is complete. |