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:
31 responses were received to the consultation, of which 17 (55%) stated they had made a complaint to the Council.
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.
We are reviewing our Complaints Policy to improve how we deal with complaints as the council currently has several disparate, out of date policies. This can be a challenge to navigate and understand the correct and most efficient way to raise a concern. We found that most people who didn’t complain decided against it as they felt it wouldn’t make a difference. However, some also noted other reasons such as a lack of understanding of our complaints process and language or technological barriers.
We are proposing a change from the current three-stage policy to reduce the number of stages, allowing the council to focus on what matters most - getting it right first time. We want a simpler and more streamlined way of handling complaints providing a full response from capable, well-trained staff.
We would like to hear your thoughts on our proposed changes. Please take a look at the definitions and help us by completing this survey before Friday 24 March 2023.
Your feedback will be included in a report which will be used to shape the new policy and will be made available in summer 2023.
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