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Finance & Resources Select Committee - Thursday, 17th April, 2025 2.00 pm

April 17, 2025 View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)
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Summary

The Finance and Resources Select Committee met on 17 April 2025, receiving an update on the Customer First Programme and discussing the future work programme for the council. The committee reviewed the Customer First Annual Report 2024, which highlighted achievements in enhancing customer experience and supported a recommendation to note the report's progress.

Customer First Annual Report 2024

The committee received a report on the Customer First Programme, which aims to embed a customer-centric culture throughout Buckinghamshire Council. Councillor John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing & Resources, introduced the report, emphasising the council's commitment to providing high standards of customer service across all communication channels. The Customer First Annual Report 2024 highlighted significant achievements in enhancing customer experience. The committee agreed to note the progress made against the Customer First corporate priority.

Key points discussed:

  • Channel Shift and Digital Inclusion: The council aims to shift customer contact from phone to digital channels, recognising digital services as cost-effective, but also acknowledged that some residents may not be comfortable with or have access to digital technology. The council is acting on the recommendations of the recent Digital Exclusion Report, including creating intuitive digital processes, continuing telephone services, and offering face-to-face support through Library Council access points and Access Point Plus sites in Aylesbury and Wickham.
  • Customer Service Centre Performance: The report indicated an improvement in the customer service centre's performance. The number of incoming calls has fallen from 31,000 to 25,000 over the last year, and the percentage of calls answered has remained consistently over 90%, with average call wait times falling below the target of three minutes.
  • First Call Resolution: Councillor Santokh Chibot raised concerns about the first call resolution rate, questioning whether the service had improved, given the call volumes. Lloyd Jeffries, Service Director for Resources and Business Operation, clarified that the first call resolution rate had steadily increased, with the implementation of the new customer relationship management platform, Aboverse, improving the rate by around 10%. He explained that seasonal spikes in activity, such as council tax and home-to-school transport inquiries, can affect call volumes. Sarah Murphy-Brookman, Corporate Director of Resources, added that the council can only answer so many calls with the staff available, and during peak times, they employ techniques to deflect calls and encourage self-service.
  • Capacity at Known Peaks: Councillor Stuart Wilson raised concerns about capacity during peak times, such as council tax and school transport inquiries, suggesting that being deflected could negatively impact residents' perception of the council. Lloyd Jeffries responded that the council builds in rotors and leave embargoes during these periods and offers callback functionality and bookable appointments.
  • Garden Waste Subscriptions: Councillor Richard Newcombe highlighted issues with the online garden waste subscription process, noting the inability to set up a direct debit and an anomaly where renewing late resulted in 13 months of subscription for the price of 12. Lloyd Jeffries acknowledged these issues, stating that improvements to the customer experience were underway and that the possibility of direct debit payments would be re-examined.
  • AI and Chatbots: Councillor Matthew Walsh inquired about the rollout of AI and the potential for savings. Lloyd Jeffries said that the council is going to service improvement board with a business case to procure an AI chat functionality, with the aim of launching it in the middle to late summer. He explained that the AI chatbot would provide a more holistic view of the website and integrate with the customer management platform. Sarah Murphy-Brookman added that the council is assessing the capabilities of AI technology and ensuring it aligns with ethical boundaries. Lloyd Jeffries estimated that AI implementation could lead to a 9ft headcount reduction, which Councillor Matthew Walsh calculated to be around 250 people.
  • Managing Demand vs. Customer Focus: Councillor Michael Bracken raised concerns about the terminology of managing demand, suggesting it sounded like the council was trying to control customers rather than help them. Lloyd Jeffries apologised and agreed that everything the council does should be around a customer-first methodology.
  • Fly-tipping: Councillor Steven Roy asked about income generated from fly-tipping fines and the use of technology, such as ring doorbell footage and CCTV, to address the issue. Lloyd Jeffries responded that he did not have the income figures to hand but would circulate the volume of transactions related to fly-tipping reports. He noted that there are data privacy issues to consider when using technologies like ring doorbells.
  • Email Inquiries: Councillor Catherine Oliver raised concerns about the handling of email inquiries, stating that residents were not getting resolutions quickly. Sarah Murphy-Brookman responded that email is not a primary route for contact, as it is difficult to filter and route. She added that the council is reviewing service standards and wants to provide notifications to keep people informed about the progress of their inquiries. Lloyd Jeffries added that the council is promoting online forms and discouraging the use of direct email to officers.
  • Stakeholders: Councillor Stuart Wilson suggested that the council should consider businesses, town and parish councils, partnerships, voluntary organisations, commissioned services and members as stakeholders and think of customers in a broader context.

Review of the Work Programme 2020-2025

The committee reviewed the work programme from 2020-2025 and considered items for the next council term. Katie Dover, Senior Scrutiny Officer, presented a report summarising the select committee’s work over the past five years.

Key topics raised for future consideration:

  • Councillor Matthew Walsh suggested discussing the council's next council.
  • Councillor Michael Bracken recommended revisiting the pay structure of council employees.
  • Councillor Richard Newcombe suggested looking at homelessness prevention, website development, and communications.
  • Councillor Graham Harris suggested reviewing the cost-effectiveness of the children's homes that the council has bought and developed.
  • Councillor Stuart Wilson suggested that other select committees should take more interest in the financial aspects of the portfolios they look at.
  • Councillor Richard Newcombe suggested that the Finance and Resources Committee should be looking at finance across the council all the time, including the finance of adult social services. He also suggested looking at procurement, given the recent changes under a new service director.
  • Councillor John Chilver suggested that legal services should be reviewed, focusing on the cost of legal services and the balance between using internal and external services.

Exclusion of the Press and Public

The committee resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business, citing that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, specifically paragraph 3 relating to information about financial or business affairs. This related to agenda item 8, an update on the ICT ONE Programme and AURA.

Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next Finance and Resources Select Committee will be confirmed at the Annual Council meeting in May 2025.

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Dev Dhillon
Councillor Dev Dhillon  Conservative •  Farnhams & Stoke Poges
Profile image for Councillor Kirsten Ashman
Councillor Kirsten Ashman  Conservative •  Burnham
Profile image for Councillor Mohammed Ayub
Councillor Mohammed Ayub  Conservative •  Castlefield & Oakridge
Profile image for Councillor Steve Bowles
Councillor Steve Bowles  Conservative •  Aston Clinton & Weston Turville
Profile image for Councillor Michael Bracken
Councillor Michael Bracken  Conservative •  Gerrards Cross & Denham
Profile image for CouncillorSantokh Chhokar
CouncillorSantokh Chhokar  Conservative •  Denham
Profile image for CouncillorPeter Cooper
CouncillorPeter Cooper  Liberal Democrats •  Wing
Profile image for CouncillorGraham Harris
CouncillorGraham Harris  Conservative •  Amersham & Chesham Bois
Profile image for CouncillorIain Macpherson
CouncillorIain Macpherson  Conservative •  Great Brickhill
Profile image for CouncillorRichard Newcombe
CouncillorRichard Newcombe  Conservative •  Wendover, Halton & Stoke Mandeville
Profile image for Councillor Catherine Oliver
Councillor Catherine Oliver  Conservative •  Hazlemere
Profile image for CouncillorSteven Roy
CouncillorSteven Roy  Conservative •  Hazlemere
Profile image for CouncillorAnja Schaefer
CouncillorAnja Schaefer  Liberal Democrats •  Buckingham
Profile image for Councillor Matthew Walsh
Councillor Matthew Walsh  Conservative •  Princes Risborough
Profile image for Councillor Stuart Wilson
Councillor Stuart Wilson  Independent •  Flackwell Heath & The Wooburns
Steve Bambrick
Katie Dover
Matthew Everitt
Fiona Jump
Sarah Murphy-Brookman
John Reed
Dave Skinner
Alex Prestridge
Lloyd Jeffries
Profile image for Councillor John Chilver
Councillor John Chilver  Vice-Chairman •  Conservative •  Horwood
Prod Sarigianis
Tanay Taank

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.

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