Agenda item

This report provides a summary and analysis of complaints received during the period 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024. The report supports the Customer Promise principles in listening to customer feedback and delivering excellent customer service.

Speakers:

Eleanor Brown, Assistant Director - Customer Experience

Steve Tanner, Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs

David John, Audit Manager

Liz Mills, Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation

Sam Reynolds, Head of Customer Engagement and System Development

Asmat Hussain, Interim Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer

Key points raised in the discussion:

1.    The Assistant Director - Customer Experience noted there had been signs of improvement compared to the first six months of last year. There was a 6% decrease in complaint volumes, a large decrease in the number of Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) escalations and investigations regarding Special Educational Needs (SEN) assessment complaints, the on-time response remained below Council's target but there had been quarterly improvements in most areas and stages. The improvement actions detailed in Annex 3 remained on track for completion by March 2025.

2.    The Assistant Director - Customer Experience summarised the key highlights around performance timescales across the complaint areas and stages, the complaint themes, and LGSCO complaint volumes and decisions held steady compared to last year. She highlighted the breakdown of the LGSCO’s decisions, the Education Service in Children, Families and Lifelong Learning (CFLL) remained the highest area. The number and proportion of LGSCO investigations relating to delays in SEN assessments had decreased in the first six months of 2024/25 which resulted in a drop in the upheld investigations. The financial remedies were around £239,000, payment outliers had been included.

3.    The Assistant Director - Customer Experience summarised the learning and analysis from complaints. CFLL Directorate: communication remained a key complaint theme regarding SEN children, the report outlined improvement actions underway such as the End to End Review, additional resource for staff training and the planned restructure in Education Services. Adults, Wellbeing and Health Partnerships Directorate: Equality, Diversity and Inclusion was central to the analysis, newly created reports were shared with internal assurance boards. Corporate Services: complaints handling training was central to improve timeliness and quality, and reduce the escalations; updates were being made to the Council’s website so residents could self-serve.

4.    The Assistant Director - Customer Experience noted that since writing the report, improvements had been made to stabilise the current complaints IT system, that improved data accessibility and the other outstanding issues were on track for resolution with the supplier by January 2025. Technical assessments were underway to inform the business case for a more effective future IT system.

5.    The Chairman noted that he could only see a slight improvement from the work underway, he asked when the Committee could see a major improvement with complaints having dropped by 50% for example. The Assistant Director - Customer Experience reiterated the various improvement actions underway which would culminate into reduced complaint volumes over time, and the extent of success was dependent on a whole Council effort. The end goal was not to have any complaints and a realistic timeframe to see a major reduction would likely be at least eighteen months and subject to a comprehensive series of improvements at both service level and complaint handling aspects.

6.    The Chairman noted that poor communication remained a major source of complaints, between 30 to 40% of complaints about CFLL. The Committee had a deep dive around eighteen months ago where poor communications were highlighted, and concern was expressed that there seemed to be limited improvement.

7.    The Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs noted that there were around 40,000 children and young people with SEN support in Surrey and around 16,000 children and young people with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). He explained that the End to End Review looked at the whole process to make it more efficient and effective to improve the timeliness and lessen the number of hand-offs between different parts of the system. Recruitment and retention was a challenge and improvements had been put in place. The customer journey was being mapped to make it smoother.

8.    The Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs explained that a revised quality assurance process was being built in to ensure that communications to parents are reviewed before being issued. The structure was being reviewed to ensure the best use of the capacity and resources, and right team sizes; using digital technology to improve communications on more simple matters, freeing up case workers’ time to address complex matters. There had been staff training on relational working with customers. The information on the Council website was being strengthened on the local offer. There had been an erosion of trust and confidence in the Council, rebuilding that would take time.

9.    The Chairman noted that constituents simply wanted to be replied to on their complaint or issue particularly at Stage 1, he asked whether the capacity was in place to do so. The Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs noted the measures taken in the Learners' Single Point of Access (L-SPA), the front door for many queries from parents and schools. The response rate had increased significantly in the last three months, work was underway to: improve the responses by case officers in the local quadrant teams, improve the telephony system and email responses, and implement a system to get instant feedback from parents around how well their call has been handled. More granular detail around parents’ overall satisfaction with their interaction with the Council could be reported to the Committee, learning from both positive and poor experiences.

10.  A Committee member noted that the cohort of 56,000 children and young people receiving support from the Council was not a small proportion. Noted that parents feel that they must make a complaint to be heard for their child’s needs to be addressed, that needed to be resolved and not exacerbated; focusing on accepting the issue and being helpful rather than being defensive.

Ayesha Azad arrived at 10.38 am.

The Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs noted the investment and focus on the Early Intervention and Support Strategy, to help identify children’s needs earlier with schools and parents and to put in the support required without the need to undertake a statutory assessment. In the last year there had been a 5% reduction in the overall EHC Needs Assessments requests.

11.   The Committee member noted that it was vital for the Committee to regularly be informed of the trajectory of parents’ satisfaction and how it was being managed, Surrey was not the only council suffering from poor communication issues. The Chairman agreed to that request. The Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs highlighted that one of the major sources of complaints last year was around EHCNAs timeliness, that improved from the teens to nearly 70%, the complaints had reduced. The increasing number of complaints relating to Annual Reviews had started to reduce as the timeliness improved, provision remained a challenge and was being addressed through the capital programme and additional provision. Demand in Surrey and nationally had significantly increased from around 7,500 EHCPs five years ago to currently around 16,000.

12.   A Committee member acknowledged the efforts being made to improve the situation, however the number of complaints received had not changed much for the last three years despite hearing the attempts throughout to improve the situation. It was highly unsatisfactory, particularly considering the further eighteen months it would take to see significant improvements. The Council was receiving more complaints than it should and it was not meeting performance targets in many areas to deal with those complaints. Queried what the Committee could do to encourage the improvement of the situation.

13.   A Committee member asked when the last time Internal Audit undertook a review of complaints management. The Audit Manager noted that the last full audit of customer complaints was in 2021, specific work around customer complaints management in Children’s Services was done in 2023; it would likely be in the planning considerations for next year.

14.   A Committee member received complaints escalated from residents who had not received clear and timely communications and updates. As there had been little change over the past few years, he asked whether the problem was truly understood, asked what assurance could be provided that the actions being taken would address the issue and provide improvements.

15.   The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation noted the extensive Customer Transformation Programme under way, benefits were being delivered. For example, the need to underpin the culture and behaviours within the organisation, taking a whole Council approach, through training and performance management and reporting systems. Also taking a digital perspective looking at the routes in such as the website to address issues, for example in Education Services having a portal by April 2025 where parents can access their record and see the progress. As well as ensuring the website is fit for purpose, enabling simple customer journeys.

16.   The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation added that customer feedback from FixMyStreet was positive, reporting issues was simpler. Had started to map every journey that a customer would take throughout the Council, there were over 500 journeys, that was being collated with the satisfaction and complaint data to focus on areas to prioritise. At the start of September where there was the usual high volume of contacts for those starting the new school year, there had been greater resolution of issues first time and more quickly for families. The Contact Centre could provide first and second line resolutions where possible. The work underway created fundamental shifts across many areas, working with services and making incremental changes over time.

17.   The Chairman asked whether the Customer Transformation Programme was in place two years ago where the problems particularly around communications were known about. The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation noted that the programme was established this year and investment was approved by the Cabinet in July 2024.

18.   A Committee member queried whether residents had been asked about what their communications issues are in trying to get data out of the Council particularly in CFLL. The actions put in place two years ago did not appear to be effective. The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation noted that the Council was working with its customers to understand the issues. The programme is improving the communication vastly, for example with families at the beginning of term. Customer feedback was used in designing the processes for FixMyStreet. The customer’s voice is the first principle used to understand their needs, moving to design and action to improve those experiences.

19.   The Head of Customer Engagement and System Development noted that in the CFLL Directorate, the learning from complaints was being reported directly to the education leadership team, there was detailed analysis on the trends and themes and case studies, detailing what had happened at each stage. That would be integrated into a Service Improvement Plan, looking at why complaints are raised, and putting in place early resolution when those are raised. A large investment had been made for more staff resourcing within the complaint function and within SEND services, through the complaint leads liaising with parents and focusing on early resolution.

20.   The Head of Customer Engagement and System Development explained that regarding Stage 1 complaints, a quality assurance framework had been introduced so the Customer Relations team could review complaint responses in line with the customer promise setting clear timeframes; following up the actions with the services so as not to escalate complaints to Stage 2. There was work in the Customer Relations team with managers to ensure accountability for the actions. There was a 30 to 40% year-on-year increase in complaints between 2019/20 and 2022/23, which started to level off in 2023/24 and for the first six months of this year there had been a decrease for the first time in Education Services in the volume of complaints at Stage 1. The increase in complaints correlated with the increase in requests for EHCPs, however, despite continued increase in demand, the complaint volumes started to decrease at Stage 1 and it is expected they would subsequently decrease at Stage 2 and at LGSCO level.

21.   The Vice-Chairman asked that when reviewing the satisfaction surveys, there should be a focus on dealing with the expectation at the first point of communication with residents. For example, the complaints he received related to insufficient information on the website or when engaging with the Council, for them to understand the processes. He noted that chatbots could be a useful tool. The Head of Customer Engagement and System Development noted that in Education Services, a restorative practice service manager had been appointed, they would help embed the cultural aspects. Chatbots were useful to address queries, yet it was important not to lose that personal touch with parents. He had highlighted in the customer journey map the issue of the early points for engagement with customers being missed before they request an EHCP, to help set expectations and improve communication at an early stage.

22.   The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation noted that chatbots had been trialled and were effective, best practice was being used, further automation in self-service was being reviewed, the model ensured accessibility. The findings were that the wrong balance of information was provided on the website, the content was being reviewed; there had been improvements to journey time and customer experience in the Blue Badge domain.

23.   The Assistant Director - Inclusion and Additional Needs responded to comments that the numbers of complaints had not improved, he noted that in 2021 there were 12,000 EHCPs. Currently, there are 16,000, that was a third increase, yet there had not been a third increase in complaints; complaints had decreased.  He outlined the key decision-making and communication points within a local authority’s statutory duties regarding EHCPs from the receipt of an application or request to assess, to the end point of reviewing the plan after one year. Noted that in some cases parents were making excessive demands of case officers through multiple emails, that was a challenge for case officers.

24.   A Committee member asked when the Service Improvement Plan would be implemented, and what the improvement expectations were. Asked for the Committee to receive those actions from two years ago, to review progress. There were solutions to address the multitude of emails received by case officers from parents, such as self-service portals. The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation confirmed that a portal for parents was in development, being tested with parents to go live in April 2025; the impact would be reported to the relevant committees. She was happy to follow up the request to track back two years and circulate to the Committee a summary of the progress made regarding communications; she would liaise with the relevant Director.

25.   A Committee member noted that parents would send multiple emails in the absence of adequate information, the right information must be available on the website or from an officer to discuss it; alleviating the stress. The Council must do better at informing people and how through various tools.

26.   A Committee member reiterated his initial question about what the Committee could do to in line with its responsibilities. The Interim Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer noted that the Committee could ask for a more detailed report but needed to avoid the issue being repeated. The Chairman highlighted that the Committee was not a scrutiny committee. The Committee agreed that the Chairman would write to CLT and the select committees, noting the Committee’s dissatisfaction with the complaints performance so far; its concerns to be highlighted to the Cabinet.

27.   The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources noted that he would inform the Cabinet of the Committee’s concerns. He noted that the Committee had not provided alternative suggestions about what could be done to improve the situation over and above the work underway. The Chairman noted that the Committee’s focus was the lack of progress, it was difficult for the Committee to say what should be done as it was not operationally involved in the work. The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources noted that for example around Home to School Transport, there was a significant reduction in the number of complaints compared to two years ago and the timeliness had improved.

28.   A Committee member asked the officers whether they felt confident that the Customer Transformation Programme would provide the improvements needed. The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation was confident that it would make a difference. She wondered whether the information had been presented in a linear way around the complaints statistics without highlighting the context and providing evidence of improvement to residents, and areas for further development. Through the investment and targeted work, there had been tangible differences. She recognised the need to keep the programme under review, to be honest and open and adjust where needed; and to provide the Committee with a more complete picture of the situation going forward.

29.   A Committee member noted that the tactical work underway addressed the symptoms rather than the root cause and asked whether how the improvements are measured would be revised. The Assistant Director - Customer Experience noted that in the Customer Transformation Programme, the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) around customer experience were being redesigned so that things are measured that demonstrate impact and to ensure that the current customer experience is understood, to show what good looks like to understand the impact of the interventions and to treat the root cause. Accessing the right data to measure that and using technology effectively was vital.

30.   A Committee member referred to the risk implications section and queried whether there was adequate accountability and whether there should be a risk added to the Strategic Risk Register on poor complaints handling. The Assistant Director - Customer Experience would consider that suggestion.

RESOLVED:

1.    Noted the content of this report, the analysis of the Council’s complaints performance.

2.    Noted the improvement actions that have been delivered and actions in progress.

Actions/further information to be provided:

1.    A36/24 - The Strategic Director - Customer Service Transformation and relevant officers will incorporate Committee members’ comments to revise how the information is presented going forward around the complaints statistics. Complaints reports to the Committee should highlight the context and provide evidence of improvement to residents regarding the Customer Transformation Programme, and areas for further development; to provide the Committee with a more complete picture of the situation going forward.

2.    A37/24 - The Committee will be regularly informed of the trajectory of parents’ satisfaction and how it is being managed, including more granular detail around parents’ overall satisfaction with their interaction with the Council, learning from both positive and poor experiences.

3.    A38/24 - Regarding the portal for parents in development to go live in April 2025, the impact will reported to the relevant committees.

4.    A39/24 - The Director - Education and Lifelong Learning will follow up the request to track back two years and circulate to the Committee a summary of the progress made regarding communications. 

5.    A40/24 - The Chairman will write to CLT and the select committees, noting the Committee’s dissatisfaction with the complaints performance so far; its concerns to be highlighted to the Cabinet via the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources.

6.    A41/24 - The Assistant Director - Customer Experience will consider the suggestion regarding whether there should be a risk added to the Strategic Risk Register on poor complaints handling.

The Committee adjourned for a ten-minute comfort break, 11.28 to 11.38 am.