Digital system will improve complaints at Shropshire Council

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Monday, 17 September 2018 20:15

By Emily Lloyd - Local Democracy Reporter

Complaints about Shropshire Council will be better communicated in the future, according to the deputy leader of the council.

Cllr Steve Charmley made the pledge at today’s Cabinet meeting, saying the ongoing digital transformation will help to keep residents informed.

Members noted complaints made up 51 per cent of all customer feedback cases in 2017/18, while compliments accounted for 25 per cent.

Cllr Hannah Fraser, of the Liberal Democrat group, suggested complaints are being made worse because of poor communication.

She continued: “I think there’s a real issue of communications over complaints.

“Quite a lot of what comes into my inbox are people who feel they haven’t had an answer.

“I have to ask residents to tell me if something has been fixed because I won’t be told by officers.”

She added: “An awful lot is about people knowing if something has been done which shouldn’t be that expensive an issue to fix.”

Cllr Charmley responded: “I agree with what you are saying.

“The way the council works is not as simple as it could be.

“One of the main strands of the digital transformation is to improve the system and that will mean automated responses and confidence that the work is being done.”

The report to Cabinet revealed Shropshire Council received 1,119 complaints – up by 197 or 21 per cent – compared with 2016/17.

More than two thirds of the complaints received related to four main service areas – highways and streescene, waste and recycling, adult social care, and children’s services.

But the response times remained within the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) timescales.