Proposed changes to Havering Council's Complaints Policy

Havering Council carried out a consultation activity from February to March 2023 seeking residents’ views on proposed changes to  Havering's Complaints Policy.

We asked residents and service users for their views on how we can improve the way we deal with complaints by proposing an update to our customer contact definitions. 

Alongside this we are proposing to merge all of our policies into one easy to understand process that reduces the number of stages, allowing us to focus on what matters most – getting it right first time.

Our proposed Six Aims to achieve this are:

1. Start off right
2. Fix it early
3. Focus on what matters
4. Be fair
5. Be honest
6. Learn from complaints and improve service delivery across the organisation

31 responses were received to the consultation, of which 17 (55%) stated they had made a complaint to the Council.

• The overwhelming majority (100%) of respondents agreed with our ‘Getting It Right First Time’ approach, and 90% felt our proposed Six Aims show a commitment to this approach.

• 90% said they felt our proposed changes were fair and reasonable.

• 71% said they felt our proposed customer contact definitions are easy to understand.

• The majority of respondents (49%) would prefer an officer reviews and signs off their complaint, 16% would prefer the Lead Member for the topic of their complaint and 35% said they do not place any importance on this, as long as they receive a full response to their complaint.

• Almost half of respondents (45%) expect to receive a response within 15 days, 16% within 20 days and 39% of respondents expect a response within 25 days.  Of the respondents who had previously made a complaint to the Council, 59% expect a response within 15 days, 6% within 20 days and 35% within 25 days.

The survey results, along with feedback from authorising bodies and other local authorities, are being reviewed and will be included in a report to inform our new Complaints Policy.