Complaints to Sheffield Council soar by thousands in one year – but it’s a good thing

However, the rise is due to a major change in the way that complaints are recorded. The figures now include those complaints that were dealt with by ‘problem solving’.

This means they were resolved at the first point of contact, with the aim of resolving issues fully within three working days. When this happens, staff declare ‘problem solved’.

A report coming before the council’s audit and standards committee on Thursday (July 27) shows that the total number of complaints received in 2022/23, including to contractors Amey and Veolia, was 9,514. Complaints to the two firms account for 2,878 (30 per cent) of that figure.

The total figure for 2021-2 was only 2,580, a rise of just under 7,000.

The services receiving the highest number of complaints are council housing repairs (42 per cent), customer services (17%) and finance (16 per cent).

Dramatically increased

In total, 5,302 (56 per cent) of complaints recorded were resolved via problem solving. This includes 1,260 Veolia complaints, 141 recorded by Amey and 3,901 of those made to the council.

An annual report to the committee from the council’s new customer services feedback and complaints team says: “It is important to note that in previous years, the council, in its annual complaints report, did not include complaints resolved through ‘problem solving.’

“However, following implementation of a new complaints case management recording system in November 2021, this valuable data set is now centrally captured. As a result, the overall number of complaints recorded in 2022/23 has dramatically increased in comparison with previous years.”

The department is putting a new ‘listening culture’ in place throughout the council to change staff behaviour and hold managers more accountable for complaint handling. A complaints improvement procedure was put in place last November and work is continuing until March.

The improvement procedure document says: “As a council we want to provide high quality, accessible and responsive services that deliver what matters most to our diverse communities. We know that timely responses leads to increased customer satisfaction and enhances our reputation as a caring organisation that listens to its population.”

There’s a target for 80 per cent of complaints taken to the next stage to be replied to within 28 days and at present this figure is 50 per cent. When complaints reach a third stage, the 28-day response level drops to 44 per cent.

Financial remedies

The top two reasons for complaints were delay and accessibility and 104 remedies were recorded. Of these, 15 were financial remedies and 89 were service improvements.

Amey accounted for 16 per cent (1,546) of the total complaints received. The highest three categories are street cleaning (21 per cent), carriageways and footways (16%) and arboriculture – tree management (12 per cent).

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Veolia accounted for 14 per cent (1,332) of complaints received. The highest three categories are container management – charging for new or replacement bins (52 per cent), black bin collection (21 per cent) and paper bin collection (seven per cent).

Complaint satisfaction surveys completed in the past 12 months show that only 10 per cent (17) of complainants who responded were satisfied with the way their complaint was handled. The target is 80 per cent.

The report says that the council missed its Quality Assurance target of 85 per cent by 1%. Overall performance for 2022/23 is 84 per cent compared with 85 per cent in the previous two years.

The number of complaints that went to the local government ombudsman in 2022-3 was 133, initial figures show. The highest numbers referred to repairs and maintenance (38), housing and neighbourhood services (30) and adult social care (12).

A total of 22 complaints were upheld and maladministration or injustice was found in 18 of those cases. A formal ombudsman report is set to be published in September.