Bexley Council's effectiveness in handling Stage 1 complaints has come under scrutiny, with a significant decline in the number of these complaints being closed on time highlighted during a recent Finance & Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. The issue was brought to the fore by Councillor Jeremy Fosten, who pointed to indicators FC08 and FC09 on page 7 of the Bexley Status Report, describing a huge slip
in timely closures.
Councillor Fosten questioned the reasons behind this dramatic decline
and sought information on the actions being taken to address it, noting that this trend aligned with recent casework from several residents.
Ross Brown, Director of Finance and Corporate Services, acknowledged that complaint handling performance can fluctuate. He attributed this variability to factors such as the volume and complexity of complaints, and the necessity of obtaining additional information from complainants. Mr. Brown assured the committee that targets are regularly reviewed and that refreshed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would be presented.
Councillor Leaf, Leader and Cabinet Member for Resources and Transformation, elaborated on the reasons for performance variations. There are a number of reasons why the complaints percentages can vary from time to time. It depends on the number of complaints, the services involved. Sometimes, again, I know from case work myself, it can be the way in which information is gathered between the complainant and the council. Sometimes there can be some delays there if more information is required. So there's generally a range of particular reasons as to why that happens,
Councillor Leaf explained. He further noted that the process of considering a complaint and ensuring a thorough response can also contribute to delays, especially when extra information is requested or provided during the process.
In response to Councillor David Li's query about specific improvement actions for complaint response times, Councillor Leaf stated that performance indicators are regularly reviewed and actions are implemented to address concerns. He also revealed that for member inquiries, the service has been integrated into the customer complaints service, working alongside officials who manage resident engagement. This move aims to leverage insights from complaints to enhance performance.
Councillor Leaf added, if we think there is an indicator that is of particular concern or worry, we then review it and look at how we can improve it.
However, the meeting did not provide further detailed, specific actions beyond these regular reviews and the relocation of the member inquiry service.
The discussion took place during a meeting where public reports were presented, as detailed in the Public reports pack. The agenda frontsheet for the meeting can be found here.
