Published on:
24
July 2012
Council Leader, Councillor Gary Womersley has warmly welcomed the announcement this week that no complaints were upheld or partly upheld against Clackmannanshire Council in 2011/12.
Councillor Womersley said: "We welcome this recognition of the effectiveness of our complaints management procedures and our desire the overall transparency, accountability and governance within the Council. I take the Ombudsman's report to be an endorsement of initiatives introduced to date."
Thirteen complaints were raised with SPSO in 2011/12, compared to ten in 2010/11.
Complaint categories were Planning - five; Housing - three; Roads and Transport - two; Subject Unknown or Out of Jurisdiction - three.
Nine were closed at SPSO's initial advice stage, three at early resolution stage and one at the investigation stage where you receive a decision letter.
The Council Leader went on: "This is excellent news. The number of complaints cases in which the Ombudsman has taken an interest has been very low for a number of years now, and he has not overturned any of our decisions.
"Most of the county's residents have regular contact with the Council and experience our customer services approach through diverse services ranging from waste collection and road repairs through to libraries and education.
"With so many key services provided to so many customers, it is understandable that they will develop their own expectations of service levels and service quality.
"Clackmannanshire Council recognises that customer expectations cannot always be met and therefore, at times, some complaints are unavoidable. Our Customer Charter sets out the level of service that our customers can expect.
"All complaints received by the Council are treated seriously, and dealt with according to our policies. I think that many of the newer initiatives to improve the Council's governance and the way we manage complaints is the reason why we get fewer complaints referred to the Ombudsman than the majority of other local authorities.
"Therefore credit is due to the staff who handle the complaints we do receive, and for resolving them where they can."
Very low referrals to the Ombudsman are a welcome reflection on the quality of Council staff, and management of customer relationships.
Every effort is made to resolve issues quickly and at the lowest possible level, and those matters that do escalate through the process for consideration by Chief Executive Elaine McPherson are rigorously investigated afresh before any final recommendation is made.
Councillor Womersley concluded: "The Council is committed to continual improvement through seeking to introduce ongoing improvements to its governance, its accountability and being more transparent in how we operate. The key driver is to be more effective, efficient and to deliver excellent customer service."