Agenda item

Please be advised that this item is to note only.

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This item was considered after Item 12 on the Agenda.

The Panel noted that annual report for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023 which set out the breakdown of MP Enquiries, Corporate and Ombudsman complaints and details on compliments received from members of the public.  It also included the number of Freedom of Information requests made in the same period as well as Data Protection Breaches, together with any reported to the Information Commissioners office.  The report was presented to the Corporate Performance Panel for information only.

In total, 97 MP Enquiries were dealt with during 2022/23, compared with 81 during the previous year.  MPs are often contacted by their constituents for help and advice on a range of local issues or individual problems with a service delivered by the Council.  These are then passed to the relevant Assistant Director or Service Head for a response.

Corporate Complaints:  59 Corporate Complaints were received during 2022/23, compared with 54 the previous year.  Of these complaints, 13 were upheld as justified and 46 not upheld at Stage 1 of the complaints process.

It was noted that of the 59 Corporate Complaints which were received, 13 went to an Appeal to the Chief Executive (Stage 2) and out of the 13 complaints, 3 were considered to be justified and 10 were not upheld at Stage 2 of the complaints process.

Ombudsman Complaints:  In total, 2 complaints were investigated by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman with 1 being upheld.

Compliments:  For the year 2022/23, the Council received 163 compliments from customers.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Governance Manager for the report and invited questions and comments, a summary of which is set out below.

The Corporate Governance Manager responded to questions and comments in relation to:

·        Freedom of Information Requests – in 2022/2023, one complaint was reported and subsequently upheld by the ICO (relating to personal medical data which had been published).

·        No of complaints upheld by the Council and lessons learnt.

·        Content of the Local Government Letter.

·        Number of MP enquires.

·        Planning and enforcement figures – the Corporate Governance Manager undertook to present the planning enforcement figures separately in future reports.

The Monitoring Officer explained that the number of complaints received from parish councils was reported to the Standards Committee.

The Corporate Governance Manager explained that the information collated form complaints was used to improve the service delivery when a complaint was upheld and training was available for officers who responded to complaints.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Governance Manager for the report and the numbers reported look reassuring.

The Chair invited the Leader to address the Panel.

The Leader commented that it was positive for the Council to receive 163 compliments.

The Portfolio Holder for People and Communities explained that she had met with the Corporate Governance Manager to discuss the report and echoed the comments made the Leader on the number of compliments received.

RESOLVED:  There were no recommendations; it was an annual report for Members to note.

The Panel adjourned at 6.19 pm and reconvened at 6.29 pm.