Contact: Stuart Dorward , ext 6110

1 Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

That the information on the monitoring of suggestions, complaints and compliments in the Recreation and Heritage Department in 2002/03 set out in the attached report be approved for submission to the Standards Committee.

2 Reasons

2.1 The County Council's operates a corporate policy on the handling of suggestions and complaints. This specifies procedures and standards that all Departments are expected to meet . Monitoring of the policy at a departmental level takes place through periodic reviews by the Departmental Management Team and annual reports to the Policy Review Committee. The overall operation of the policy is monitored by the Standards Committee A consolidated report covering all departments of the County Council will be considered by the Standards Committee in September.

2.2 The Executive Member is asked to approve the attached report on the handling of suggestions and complaints in the Recreation and Heritage Department in the year ending 31 March 2003 for submission to the Standards Committee.

3 Other options considered and rejected - not applicable

4 Conflicts of interest declared by the decision maker, or a member or officer consulted - not applicable

5 Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - not applicable

6 Reasons for matter being dealt with, if urgent - not applicable

Approved by: (Signature) Date: (of decision)

................................. .........................

Councillor J. Waddington

Contact: Stuart Dorward, ext 6110

7 Introduction

7.1 The County Council's operates a corporate policy on the handling of suggestions and complaints. This specifies procedures and standards that all Departments are expected to meet . Monitoring of the policy at a departmental level takes place through periodic reviews by Departmental Management Teams and annual reports to Policy Review Committees. The overall operation of this policy is monitored by the Standards Committee.

7.2 This report reviews the Recreation and Heritage Department's handling of suggestions and complaints in the year ending 31 March 2003. A consolidated report covering all departments of the County Council will be considered by the Standards Committee in September.

8 Background

8.1 The corporate policy on suggestions and complaints¹ makes the following commitments on behalf of all County Council services:

· acknowledgements are sent within 5 working days of receiving a communication stating who will be handling the case and how long it will take to send a full reply

· a full response will be given within 20 working days.

8.2 The policy also sets out an escalation procedure if a complainant is not satisfied with the response:

· Stage One: Local manager to deal with the complaint in the first instance

· Stage Two: Head of Department

· Stage Three: Chief Executive.

Beyond this, complainants have the right to raise their concerns with the Local Government Ombudsman

8.3 There is a particular requirement to monitor the incidence of racial or disability related complaints. Complainants are asked to volunteer information about their personal circumstances to assist this.

8.4 Within Recreation and Heritage, suggestions and complaints are usually dealt with on a service basis. Services also keep of record of compliments received. The Departmental Management Team monitors and reviews the operation of the policy for whole Department.

9 Performance in 2002/03

9.1 The table below compares the total recorded complaints and compliments in 2002/03 with those in 2001/02 on a service by service basis:

9.2 280 (80%) of the 350 complaints received were handled by service managers at the local level. 69 (20%) were referred to the Head of Service. One complaint involving potential legal action was referred to the Chief Executive. 95% of complaints in 2002/03 were fully answered within 20 days.

9.3 Services analyse complaints under a number of broad headings. The results for 2002/03 were as follows:

9.4 The level of complaints received should be seen in the context of the number of people using the Recreation and Heritage services. In 2002/03 the following total visits were recorded in the Library and Information Service and in Museums and Archives²:

9.5 Information from the survey of Hampshire residents conducted by MORI on the County Council's behalf towards the end of last year shows continuing very high satisfaction levels with Recreation and Heritage services. 67% of respondents were satisfied with library and archive services, 53% with heritage sites and museums and 65% with countryside sites. In contrast, the figures for those expressing dissatisfaction were 7% for libraries and archives, 8% for heritage sites and museums and 9% for countryside sites. These results compare very favourably with those of other counties. However, the complaints figures suggest that some of our users have very high expectations about the nature and quality of the services we provide and the buildings we operate.

9.6 It is difficult to generalise about the complaints received. In the Library and Information Service users have raised concerns about fines and charges, the policy on concessions, the need to transfer resources from book purchasing to support improvements in library buildings and the increase in the number of public access internet terminals. In the Countryside Service many complaints arise from perceived misuse of facilities by others, reflecting the difficulties of managing access to sites and rights of way for the enjoyment of different groups. Other complaints relate to delays in clearing fly tips and obstructions to rights of way. In the Hampshire Record Office complaints included noise and temperature in the searchroom, the quality and filing of microfiche, disabled access to toilets and the adequacy of information provided.

9.7 The relatively few complaints received about our staff are far outweighed by the compliments they receive. Throughout the Department there are many instances of users expressing thanks to individuals or groups of staff for the level of personal service they have received.

9.8 Wherever possible the Department acts on complaints and suggestions to introduce improvements or rectify faults. Examples include:

· Access improvements at many sites

· Introduction of a digital photography service in Hampshire Records Office following complaints about speed of service

· Various improvements at Lymington library following complaints and suggestions by users (new tables, shopping baskets, dog rings etc.).

9.9 The new Departmental objectives agreed for the Recreation and Heritage services place a particular emphasis on customer care and service improvement. We will draw on the experience of staff in the Archives service, who have successfully guided the process of renewing the Charter Mark for Hampshire Record Office, to realise the commitment of achieving Charter Mark or similar accreditation for all public service parts of the Department within eighteen months. The Charter Mark assessment process places a considerable amount of stress on using customer feedback, both positive and negative, to drive service improvement.

Recommendation

1 That the information on the monitoring of suggestions, complaints and compliments in the Recreation and Heritage Department in 2002/03 set out in the report be approved for submission to the Standards Committee.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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