Agenda item

Further to Minute 82 of the meeting held on the 16^th September, 2020, the Executive Director Core Services will submit a report presenting the findings of a review following the receipt of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Review Letter.

Further to Minute No 82 of the meeting held on the 16^th September, 2020, the Executive Director Core Services submitted a report presenting the findings of a review following the receipt of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s (LGSCO) Annual Review Letter.  The letter from the Ombudsman and proposed Action Plan detailing the service improvements to address the issues identified were appended to the report.

The report, which was presented by the Executive Director and Mrs K Liddall, Head of Programmes, Projects, Feedback and Improvement outlined in some detail the following:

·         The background to the work of the LGSCO and the role and responsibility of the Council in responding to complaints received

·         The detailed findings of the Ombudsman’s Letter.  It was noted that 57% of complaints investigated were upheld compared to an average of 67% in similar authorities; 100% of the Ombudsman’s recommendations had been implemented; and 25% of upheld complaints had been found to be satisfactorily remedied prior to the escalation to the Ombudsman compared to an average of 11% in similar authorities

·         The failure to respond to and implement the LGSCO recommendations in a timely manner was disappointing.  The reasons for this were outlined and the difficulties encountered particularly in relation to complex cases were referred to.  It was important, however, to ensure that timely responses were provided and, therefore, an immediate and fundamental review of processes and procedures had been initiated which had been supported by the Data Protection Officer. 

·         Of the 54 complaints received, only 8 cases were upheld, 2 of which required no further action.  A ‘deep dive’ into the remaining 6 cases had, however, identified delays and failings in service delivery

·         The reasons for the review, the way in which this had been undertaken and a precis of the issues identified were outlined

·         In accordance with the remit of this Committee as outlined within the Terms of Reference ‘to consider any payments in excess of £2000 or provide other benefits in cases of maladministration by the authority within the scope of Section 92 of the Local Government Act 2000’ it was noted that one payment had been made in excess of this amount following a recommendation of the Ombudsman which related to the provision of Special Educational Needs and Support

·         An explanation was provided of the improvements in processes and procedures proposed as outlined within the Action Plan.  Reference was made to the introduction of a new SharePoint online system to effectively track and manage the end to end customer journey (including both Ombudsman complaints, other Information Requests and Subject Access Requests), the development and publication of directorate complaint management dashboards and the development of a robust communication plan to strengthen messages around the issue of delays and the need to respond quickly and appropriately in accordance with agreed timescales

In the ensuing discussion the following matters were raised:

·         Reference was made to the receipt of inappropriate and vexatious complaints and to how these were dealt with.  It was noted, however, that the vast majority of complaints received were valid and required investigation

·         Whilst delays in responding to the Ombudsman was disappointing it was pleasing to note that out of that had come a system that would provide a better response for the public

Written responses to questions asked by members of the Committee were provided as follows:

·         It was noted that comparable data showing how previous LGSCO cases had been handled compared to those actioned in 2020/21 could be provided to the Committee.  It was hoped that comparisons in future would demonstrate the effectiveness of the service/system improvements and further evidence how delays would not be tolerated

·         Mitigation/reasoning for delays in implementing recommendations varied across differing Services, however, the majority focused on the lack of resources available to respond to LGSCO enquiries.  In some service areas, a high turn over of staff and agency workers had contributed to the problem.  This in turn had contributed to a lack of ownership and the timely implementation of recommendations.  This, however, had been addressed with the appointment of permanent resources to field such enquiries in the areas concerned

·         In relation to comparisons to previous years and to the first 6 months of this year, it was reported that the Council had received 41 contacts from the Ombudsman’s Office in 2018/19 which was an increase from the previous years reported position (33).  Four of these contacts originated from the Housing Ombudsman Serviced (HOS) and 37 from the LGSCO.  Twenty-four of these required the Ombudsman to undertake a formal investigation.  Improvements to service delivery were recommended in respect of 6 cases (14%).

Whilst there had been an increase in the number of LGSCO cases received, delays in the timely completion of recommendations was two-fold.  The lack of resources available to action LGSCO recommendations contributed to this issue, however, significant fault rested with the Customer Feedback Information Team which delayed in circulating LGSCO final decision reports/recommendations with the services concerned.

Lessons had been learned and all LGSCO complaints were now tracked and managed through the new SharePoint Online system.

Delays in the first 6 months of this year had occurred.  The LGSCO review report captured cases up to and including March 2020 and mitigation measures implemented.  Also, the Customer Feedback Information Team Service had been suspended from mid March to mid June in order to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic.  The LGSCO had been notified and was supportive of this approach.  The LGSCO had agreed to place all cases on hold until the Service was reinstated.

Following the receipt of the LGSCO Letter and implementation of the new tracking and management system, there had been no delays to service delivery

·         It was suggested that given that there had been issues about the timely manner in which responses had been made to the LGSCO and also previously issues in relation to internal audit queries/recommendations, that an appropriate reminder should be issued on this issue at some time in the future

RESOLVED:

(i)            That the report and letter of the LGSCO be received and the contents noted; and

(ii)          That the findings from the fundamental review of corporate processes and the introduction of new systems to ensure a higher level of compliance in response to the LGSCO’s letter be noted and supported.