Purpose

To provide an overview of the complaints received during 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024 for services within the Housing Revenue Account. The Councils performance against the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code, in the form of the Annual Complaint Handling and Service Improvement Report.

Decision

That the Portfolio Holder for Strategic and Operational Housing in their capacity as Member responsible for Complaints (‘MRCs’)

1. Approve the Councils annual complaints performance and service improvement report for 2023/24 as contained at Appendix 1.
2. Approve the response to the annual complaints and performance and service improvement report for 2023/24 as contained in Appendix 1 as the formal response from the Councils ‘governing body’ as required by the Code.

Reasons for the decision

It is a statutory requirement that the Council complies with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code and the requirement to provide an annual submission, including an Annual Complaint Handling and Service Improvement Report and annual self-assessment.  

Alternative options considered

Do nothing- the Council could opt to not publish a formal decision regarding annual complaints performance and service improvement. However, this will be considered that the Council does not have oversight from the relevant ‘governing body’ and therefore in breach of the Housing Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code. Not recommended.