Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member for Housing Services is attached.

The Cabinet Member for Housing Services presented a report presenting the self-assessment against the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code and the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report for approval. This included a summary of areas of complaints, Ombudsman rulings, and the resulting changes and training.

In response to Member questions, it was noted that staff training, new complaint handlers, and improvements to ongoing monitoring were now in place. All comments and outcomes from Ombudsman rulings were implemented, with complaints being seen as opportunities to learn and improve the service. With regards to repairs, a review was underway on how these were carried out to ensure jobs are completed first time, including training provided to the Asset Management team regarding tenant profiles.

Decision:

Cabinet:

1.    Approved the annual self assessment against the Complaint Handling Code; and

2.    Approved the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report.

Reasons for the decision:

It is a requirement of the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code that we carry out a self-assessment against the code and produce an annual report on our complaints’ performance and service improvement. As part of the code it is a requirement that both are approved by the governing body of the landlord and then submitted to the Housing Ombudsman along with the governing body’s response to the report.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

None.