Lewisham Council is set to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance its handling of resident complaints and inquiries, aiming to improve efficiency and resident satisfaction. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee discussed the findings of the Draft Annual Complaints Report for 2025/26 and received an update on the Corporate Inquiries Transformation Project. A key takeaway from the meeting was the acknowledgment that a significant number of resident contacts are misclassified as formal complaints when they are, in fact, service requests. This misclassification inflates complaint numbers and distorts escalation rates.
Key trends and themes identified from complaint data include a high volume of service requests being misclassified as formal complaints, issues with communication, delays in responses, disagreements with decision-making, inadequate explanations, and failure to respond to complaints in full. Specific issues like 'missed collections' and 'account queries' are highlighted as areas needing better triage and clearer communication. Proposed actions include improving triage and classification of contacts, enhancing response quality and timeliness, strengthening the use of complaint data for learning and service improvements, and improving communication with residents.
To address these issues, the council is exploring a hub-and-spoke model for managing corporate inquiries, which includes complaints, member inquiries, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, and Subject Access Requests (SARs). This model aims to centralise oversight and standards while retaining service-specific expertise, leading to improved consistency, accountability, and resident experience.
Discussions highlighted the need for enhanced training for both officers and councillors on case management, complaint handling, and the correct use of systems. For officers, training sessions will cover response writing, tone, quality, completeness, case management processes, working in a political environment, use of the iCasework system and dashboards, trend reporting, corrective actions, and sharing best practice. For Members, a dedicated session is scheduled, and they are invited to submit topics. The council is moving towards 'clinics' where members can bring their challenges and learn by doing, with the aim of deeper learning.
The council is also reviewing and updating response templates to improve the quality, tone, and completeness of communications, with a particular focus on vulnerable residents. Furthermore, the Corporate Inquiries Transformation Project is developing improved dashboards and reporting tools to provide better visibility of trends, themes, and performance. This will help establish clear ownership for generating learning from cases and driving service improvements.
While the use of AI was discussed as a potential tool to assist with processes like triage, the council emphasized the need for careful management to avoid incorrect information. The report also noted that the council's target for responding to complaints within timescales was not met, with Stage One responses at 87.5% and Stage Two at 56%. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigated 52 complaints about the council, with an upheld rate of 87%. The council paid out £49,185.24 in financial remedies in response to upheld complaints in 2025/26. Beyond financial remedies, other forms of redress and compensation for upheld complaints include apologies, acknowledging where things have gone wrong, providing explanations, assistance, or reasons, taking action for delays, reconsidering or changing decisions, amending records or adding corrections, and changing policies, procedures, or practices. The report also mentions that remedies can include 'new assessment' for Blue Badge complaints and 'loss of the chance of a school placement' for SEN provision.
New corporate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are to be implemented to track performance, outcomes, escalation, and learning. These indicators include: 1. Number of complaints received (including those excluded from the process). 2. Timeliness of responses (Stage One within 10 working days, Stage Two within 20 working days). 3. Outcomes (percentage of complaints upheld, partially upheld, not upheld, and resolved). 4. Learning from complaints and remedies (percentage of complaints with a remedy and a summary of service improvements). The project aims to improve resident experience through clearer accountability, more consistent case handling, and quicker resolution of issues.
Key areas for improvement identified include better triage and classification of incoming contacts, improving the quality and timeliness of responses, and enhancing the process of learning from complaints to prevent recurring issues. The council is committed to using complaint data to identify trends and drive service improvements.
Agenda frontsheet 22nd Sep 2026 19:00 Overview and Scrutiny Committee Minutes of Previous Meeting Public reports pack 22nd Sep 2026 19:00 Overview and Scrutiny Committee