Agenda item

The Service Director – Finance and Improvement Services provided a brief introduction on the content of the presentation and Members were reminded that in line with the Local Government Elections (Wales) Act 2021, the responsibility of the Governance and Audit Committees is to evaluate and assess the Local Authority’s ability to review and handle complaints effectively and to make recommendations on the same. The Service Director added that the presentation will aim to update Members on the Council’s complaints handling arrangements in readiness for the Committee’s responsibilities under the Local Government Elections (Wales) Act 2021.

The presentation was delivered under the following key headlines: -

-        Customer Feedback & Engagement Team

-        Legislative Requirements

-        Principals of an effective complaint handling process

-        How are complaints regulated

-        How well are we doing?

-        Priorities for 2022/23

To begin the Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager provided a brief overview of the roles and responsibilities of the team that cover overseeing the management of complaint handling across the Council; dealing with complaints that are crosscutting two or more service areas;  providing training and good practice guidance on complaints management; processing subject access requests and all external information requests; facilitating Social Services Survey; advising on the management of unreasonable customers; facilitating complaint network groups at a local and national level; and supporting Adult Services and Children’s Services with their legislative duties to provide advocacy services.

It was highlighted to Members the requirement for local authorities to establish procedures for dealing with complaints regarding Social Services functions including the representations relating to children. These requirements are set out in the Representation Procedure (Wales) regulations 2014 in relation to children and in the Social Services Complaints Procedure (Wales) regulations 2014 for adults.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager informed Members of new powers afforded to the Public Service Ombudsman Wales (PSOW) which requires local authorities to operate complaint handling procedures in compliance with PSOW statement of principles and their model complaints handling policy. Based on the powers adopted, the PSOW introduced the Complaints Standards Authority (CSA) which monitors compliance based on the principles of effective complaints handling. The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager also informed Members of an approved complaints handling policy issued by the Ombudsman as a result of meeting requirements.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager referenced the principles of effective complaint handling processes set by the PSOW. These ensure complaints are compliant focused (flexible & addressing need), simple (2 Stages), fair, objective, timely, effective, accountable (clear & honest) and committed to continuous improvement (analysis & improvements). It was highlighted to Members that the overall priority is to ensure a good outcome for the person making the complaint, where possible.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager provided insight into the two complaints handling processes within RCT, these being Statutory Social Services Complaints (SSSC) and Customer Feedback Scheme (CFS). The Statutory Social Services process is a legislative requirement that deals with all Social Services complaints functions which fall under the Social Services Well-being Act (2014). It was noted to Members that the Director of Children Services is accountable for these processes. The Customer Feedback Scheme involves the wider complaints scheme for all services provided by the Council and it was noted that complaints can be received via different communication channels such as social media, telephone and website.

The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager provided performance information in relation to CFS and SSSC between April 2021- December 2021.  For CFS, 407 complaints (67.4%), 159 compliments (26.4%) and 38 comments (6.2%) were received. With regard to SSSC, Members were advised of the significant decrease in complaints for Social Services as a result of the pandemic and overall, 82 complaints were received representing 25% of all team contacts and 130 compliments were received representing 39.5% of contacts.  Between April and December 2021 5% of complaints received from the CFS were referred to the PSOW and all were either closed or resolved with no Ombudsman investigations. In relation to SSSC process, 10% of the complaints were referred to the PSOW, all but 3 which are ongoing have been resolved. 49% of Social Care complaints were resolved in the Statutory timescale of 15 working days.

To conclude, the Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager provided the Committee with an overview of the priorities set for 2022/23 that included improving engagement with customers to better capture customer feedback and suggestions for improvements; improve the use of data from all existing processes including CFS; to develop mechanism for two way communication with the public detailing where improvements and service developments have been undertaken as a direct result of feedback received; set targets to drive improvements on timeliness of complaints handling from receipt to closure; ensure that the new system for recording customer feedback is fit for purpose and that it meets the requirements of frontline services; and continue working with other service areas to ensure all feedback is captured and recorded.

The Chair was pleased with comprehensive and detailed presentation provided and referred to Members for questions.

Based on the complaints figures provided, one Member queried the volume of Social Service complaints across Wales and the impact of the pandemic on complaints received. In response the Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager commended the hard work undertaken by frontline services in Rhondda Cynon Taf Council as they managed to deliver, maintain and adapt services in order to meet public expectations. Based on the 1^st Quarter of the PSOW report, it was advised that across Wales over 4,300 complaints were received, of which 119 were in respect of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. The Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager informed Members that this position is the lowest compared to neighbouring Councils and supports the effective work being undertaken by frontline services within Rhondda Cynon Taf.

One Member raised a query concerning the Customer Feedback Scheme in respect of the controls in place to ensure that information received is accurate and reported correctly. In response, the Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager fed back that a new customer management system for the contact centre has been introduced that will help to further enhance the existing controls in place.

Lastly, a Member sought clarification on the process followed when a complaint is received that covers both the Health Service and the Council’s Social Services. In response, the Complaints and Quality Assurance Manager advised that discussions take place between the designated officers within the Council and Health Service, and depending on the nature of the complaint, agreement is reached in terms of the coordination and formulation of the response.

Following discussions, the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED:

-        To receive and note the content of the presentation