Performance Committee
7 December 2010
Title of Report; Compliments and Complaints Quarter TwoReport by Head of Customer Service and Improvement
For Discussion
1. / Background information
The report provides an overview of compliments, informal, formal, escalated and Ombudsman complaints for quarter two2010-11. It includes how we have improved our services by learning from key messages from our tenants, leaseholders and other customers, information on claims for and levels of compensation, satisfaction levels, and demographic information.
Key Performance Q2
- 96% (target 95%) of formal complaints responded to within 10 day target.
- 97% (target 90%) of formal complaints acknowledged within 2 days
- 42% (target 50%) of complainants satisfied with the handling of complaints.
- 1% (13) of complaints reached step three, only 1of these complaints were justified.
- Only 1 complaint was closed by the Ombudsman in quarter two. The Ombudsman closed the case stating that there was ‘no maladministration’.
2. / Issues and concerns
Ombudsman Case
The only case this quarter concerned a tenants group who were unhappy with the standard of work done to their property through the modern homes programme. A request was passed through the Board for compensation following problems with windows. The tenants group were unhappy with the payment made and made a complaint through the complaints process. The complaint was not upheld at steps two and three and so the tenants group made a complaint to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman stated in their investigations that it was not a matter for them to determine if the amount of compensation was appropriate and that they could only investigate whether the decision was made in the appropriate manner, according to our own rules. The Ombudsman’s findings were that the decision had been made according to our rules and that the decision had been communicated appropriately to the tenants group, therefore there was no maladministration.
IT System
The database used to log formal, escalated and Ombudsman complaints will no longer be available to use from the end of December 2010. We are currently working with the City Council to move to a new system called Lagan. The City Council have been using Lagan to log their complaints for approximately 12 months. Therefore there are no issues foreseen with the transfer.
3. / The Options / Appraisal
Analysis of compliments and complaints
The table below shows the numbers of compliments and all steps of complaints received over the last two years broken down by quarters.
The level of informal complaints has increased in quarter two (848) in comparison to quarter one 2010-11 (599) however it is a similar number to quarter two2009-10 (822).
Formal complaints haveremained at a similar level (170) to the previous quarter (167) and to the same period from the previous year (161).
Q3 8/9 / Q4 8/9 / Q1 9/10 / Q2 9/10 / Q3 9/10 / Q4
9/10 / Q1 10/11 / Q2 10/11 / % Analysis on reporting quarter
Compliments / 15 / 14 / 35 / 35 / 36 / 20 / 21 / 43 / -
Informal Complaints / 879 / 700 / 611 / 822 / 663 / 785 / 599 / 848 / 82%
Formal Complaints / 193 / 240 / 189 / 161 / 131 / 157 / 167 / 170 / 16%
Escalated Complaints / 20 / 16 / 24 / 18 / 15 / 14 / 18 / 13 / 1%
Ombudsman Complaints / 6 / 3 / 4 / 7 / 2 / 3 / 2 / 1 / less than 1%
Total Complaints / 1096 / 964 / 827 / 998 / 810 / 959 / 786 / 1032
The table below shows the numbers of compliments and all steps of complaints broken down by service areas over the two year period
A large majority (78%) of informal complaints are dealt with by Housing Management, although not all are about Housing Management. Types of complaints include repairs, Housing Benefits and Envirocall issues.
Service Area / Q3 8/9 / Q4 8/9 / Q1 9/10 / Q2 9/10 / Q3 9/10 / Q4
9/10 / Q1 10/11 / Q2 10/11 / % Analysis on reporting quarter
Compliments
Housing Management / 4 / 7 / 12 / 12 / 12 / 3 / 2 / 6 / 14%
Repairs / 2 / 0 / 5 / 5 / 2 / 1 / 2 / 5 / 12%
Investment Delivery / 1 / 2 / 3 / 0 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 4 / 10%
Support and Care / 6 / 5 / 10 / 7 / 7 / 5 / 1 / 2 / 5%
City Wide Services / 0 / 0 / 0 / 7 / 10 / 9 / 11 / 23 / 55%
Corporate Services / 2 / 0 / 2 / 4 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 2%
Business Development / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 1 / 2%
Informal Complaints
Housing Management / 667 / 625 / 494 / 587 / 467 / 571 / 460 / 662 / 78%
Repairs / 40 / 4 / 10 / 4 / 6 / 3 / 3 / 3 / less than 1%
Investment Delivery / 59 / 34 / 40 / 39 / 26 / 35 / 18 / 18 / 2%
Support and Care / 95 / 17 / 17 / 28 / 16 / 27 / 15 / 7 / 1%
City Wide Services / 5 / 11 / 12 / 39 / 31 / 25 / 12 / 20 / 2%
Corporate Services / 3 / 8 / 22 / 19 / 12 / 17 / 6 / 38 / 5%
Business Development / 0 / 1 / 36 / 106 / 105 / 107 / 85 / 100 / 12%
Formal Complaints
Housing Management / 39 / 67 / 68 / 49 / 41 / 57 / 75 / 65 / 38%
Repairs / 72 / 70 / 58 / 66 / 56 / 62 / 49 / 56 / 33%
Investment Delivery / 57 / 80 / 42 / 26 / 24 / 19 / 18 / 23 / 14%
Support and Care / 8 / 12 / 6 / 6 / 7 / 7 / 2 / 3 / 2%
City Wide Services / 8 / 3 / 6 / 5 / 2 / 2 / 13 / 11 / 6%
Corporate Services / 3 / 4 / 5 / 4 / 1 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 2%
Business Development / 6 / 4 / 6 / 4 / 0 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 5%
Escalated Complaints – complaints closed in the quarter
Housing Management / 9 / 2 / 10 / 8 / 7 / 7 / 10 / 7 / 54%
Repairs / 5 / 4 / 4 / 5 / 3 / 4 / 4 / 1 / 8%
Investment Delivery / 3 / 7 / 5 / 2 / 3 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 8%
Support and Care / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0%
City Wide Services / 3 / 3 / 4 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 8%
Corporate Services / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0%
Business Development / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 23%
Ombudsman Complaints – complaints closed in the quarter
Housing Management / 4 / 1 / 0 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0%
Repairs / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0%
Investment Delivery / 1 / 1 / 3 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0%
Support and Care / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0%
City Wide Services / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0%
Corporate Services / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 100%
Business Development / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0%
The table below shows the steps of complaints broken down by nature of complaint over the past two years. The table shows that complaints about members of staff remain the lowest nature of complaints over all steps of complaints.
Nature of Complaints / Q3 8/9 / Q4 8/9 / Q1 9/10 / Q2 9/10 / Q3 9/10 / Q4 9/10 / Q1 10/11 / Q2 10/11 / % Analysis on reporting quarter
Informal Complaints
Quality / 597 / 305 / 187 / 248 / 249 / 218 / 172 / 268 / 32%
Policy / 171 / 165 / 190 / 231 / 192 / 220 / 192 / 254 / 30%
Staff / 12 / 15 / 12 / 10 / 13 / 14 / 10 / 21 / 2%
Delay / 99 / 215 / 222 / 296 / 209 / 333 / 225 / 305 / 36%
Formal Complaints
Quality / 93 / 112 / 95 / 70 / 58 / 48 / 41 / 48 / 28%
Policy / 29 / 64 / 40 / 25 / 26 / 31 / 47 / 38 / 23%
Staff / 17 / 18 / 13 / 11 / 8 / 12 / 9 / 19 / 11%
Delay / 54 / 46 / 41 / 55 / 39 / 66 / 72 / 65 / 38%
Escalated Complaints
Quality / 11 / 5 / 12 / 6 / 10 / 6 / 5 / 5 / 38%
Policy / 8 / 6 / 5 / 7 / 4 / 5 / 8 / 7 / 54%
Staff / 1 / 1 / 3 / 3 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 1 / 8%
Delay / 0 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 5 / 0 / 0%
Ombudsman Complaints
Quality / 2 / 2 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 0 / 0%
Policy / 1 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 100%
Staff / 2 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0%
Delay / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0%
The table below shows the outcome of complaints over all steps of complaints. The table shows that the percentage of ‘not justified’ complaints increases as the level of escalation increases. This is viewed as a positive trend, as we get it right more often the higher the complaint is escalated.
Outcome of complaints / Q3 8/9 / Q4 8/9 / Q1 9/10 / Q2 9/10 / Q3 9/10 / Q4 9/10 / Q1 10/11 / Q2 10/11 / % Analysis on reporting quarter
Informal Complaints
Justified / 586 / 374 / 285 / 391 / 259 / 338 / 315 / 415 / 70%
Not Justified / 81 / 95 / 103 / 173 / 165 / 189 / 127 / 177 / 30%
Formal Complaints
Justified / 91 / 104 / 78 / 85 / 48 / 71 / 63 / 72 / 44%
Not Justified / 86 / 120 / 104 / 71 / 77 / 80 / 84 / 91 / 56%
Escalated Complaints
Justified / 5 / 4 / 2 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 1 / 8%
Not Justified / 14 / 8 / 21 / 13 / 11 / 9 / 13 / 12 / 92%
Ombudsman Complaints
Maladministration / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0%
Local Settlement / 2 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0%
Ombudsman Discretion / 1 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 2 / 0 / 1 / 0 / 0%
No Maladministration / 3 / 2 / 4 / 6 / 0 / 2 / 1 / 1 / 100%
The following table shows examples of where YHN have changed a procedure or process through learning from complaints, either by individual managers or by the Complaints Champions. There are also examples of complaints that have resulted in local retraining to ensure that mistakes don’t reoccur.
What was the complaint? / What did we do? / What does this mean for the customer?
Complainant unhappy with the cleaning standards at their block of flats / Supervisors were briefed that an improvement must be made. Signs in lifts must be noted and replaced accordingly and the new cleaning products used. The customer was advised that this had been raised with the cleaning staff. The customer was invited on block inspections to register their thoughts with the team directly. / The customer is now aware that the standards should improve and they are able to feedback directly after the cleaning has taken place.
Complainants unhappy with the length of time taken to modernise their home. / In view of the high amount of work ongoing on the site more regular updates should have been made, e.g. monthly bulletins until completion. All residents were written to following the complaints. / The customer is now aware what is happening on site. All residents in the area are now receiving better communication.
Complainant unhappy that the problems with their combi boiler have been happening for over four years. / A full repair has been carried out with new parts, rather than the repairs being patched up. / The customer is now happy that a full repair has been completed and they will not have to report future repairs for the same issue.
Complainant unhappy with the length of time the lift was out of order. / The lift has was fixed, however there were issues with the length of time for the full resolution of the complaint. The lift repair was initially not budgeted for and as a consequence the repair could not be authorised until a budget had been agreed.
We now have a contingency lift budget in place to ensure this delay doesn’t happen again. / The customer now has access to the lift again and all affected customers were given a nominal sum of money to reimburse the service cost of the lift.
Complainant unhappy with the length of time taken to fix the radiators. Repairs operatives turned up three times to fix the radiators with the wrong parts. / Investigating officer arranged for the repair to be completed properly. Building manager and stores were told to ensure the repair was completed. / The customer is now happy that the repair is completed and they have an apology for their inconvenience.
Complainant unhappy that he wascharged for a change of locks on the garage. He felt he was given no notice of the tenancy ending due to arrears before the lock was changed. This did not give him the opportunity to hand in the keys and avoid the charge. / The invoice was removed as the locks were changed on the same day as the tenant was sent the letter stating he would no longer have the garage tenancy. / The customer was given an apology and has now set up a direct debit for his new garage tenancy and is in credit on his account.
The table below shows the demographic breakdown in percentage terms of our customers making complaints at different steps of the complaints process compared to the customer base.
This is the new format agreed after the recent review to ensure that demographic information is collated and reported in a consistent manner for all sections of YHN.
The data shows that complaints are being received from across most of the categories of demographics demonstrating that the complaints process is accessible to all our customers.
Complaints Made Qtr1 - Demographic Information
Gender / Total Responses / Informal / Formal / Step 3 / Ombudsman
Female / 503 / 47% / 58% / 54% / 0%
Male / 360 / 33% / 42% / 46% / 0%
Gender not provided / 169 / 20% / 0% / 0% / 100%
1032
Age / Total Responses / Informal / Formal / Step 3 / Ombudsman
16 to 24 / 70 / 7% / 6% / 8% / 0%
25 to 34 / 197 / 18% / 24% / 15% / 0%
35 to 44 / 211 / 21% / 19% / 8% / 0%
45 to 54 / 152 / 14% / 19% / 23% / 0%
55 to 59 / 64 / 6% / 5% / 8% / 0%
60 to 64 / 56 / 6% / 5% / 0% / 0%
65 to 74 / 74 / 7% / 5% / 23% / 0%
75+ / 60 / 6% / 4% / 0% / 0%
Age band not provided / 148 / 15% / 12% / 15% / 100%
1032
Ethnicity / Total Responses / Informal / Formal / Step 3 / Ombudsman
White British / 647 / 62% / 69% / 38% / 0%
White Irish / 5 / 0.5% / 0.6% / 0% / 0%
White Other / 19 / 2% / 1% / 8% / 0%
Mixed - White and Black Caribbean / 1 / 0% / 1% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - White and Black African / 3 / 0.4% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - White and Asian / 4 / 0.5% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - Other / 2 / 0.1% / 0.6% / 0% / 0%
Asian or Asian British - Indian / 4 / 0.5% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Asian or Asian British - Pakistani / 2 / 0.2% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi / 5 / 0.5% / 0.6% / 0% / 0%
Asian Other / 10 / 1% / 0.6% / 0% / 0%
Black or Black British - Caribbean / 6 / 0.7% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Black or Black British - African / 19 / 2% / 1% / 8% / 0%
Black Other / 8 / 0.7% / 1% / 0% / 0%
Chinese / 3 / 0.4% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Other Background / 25 / 3% / 2% / 0% / 0%
Ethnicity not provided / 269 / 26% / 23% / 46% / 100%
1032
Religion or Faith / Total Responses / Informal / Formal / Step 3 / Ombudsman
No Religion / 68 / 6% / 9% / 8% / 0%
Christian (all denominations) / 162 / 14% / 24% / 0% / 0%
Buddhist / 1 / 0.1% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Hindu / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Jewish / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Muslim / 15 / 2% / 1% / 0% / 0%
Sikh / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Any other religion or faith / 1 / 0.1% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Prefer not to say / 16 / 0.5% / 6% / 15% / 0%
Religion not provided / 769 / 77% / 60% / 77% / 100%
1032
Sexual Orientation / Total Responses / Informal / Formal / Step 3 / Ombudsman
Heterosexual/Straight / 75 / 8% / 4% / 0% / 0%
Gay Man / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Gay Woman / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Bisexual / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Prefer not to say / 6 / 0.5% / 1% / 0% / 0%
Sexual orientation not provided / 951 / 92% / 95% / 100% / 100%
1032
Long term illness, health problems or disability / Total Responses / Informal / Formal / Step 3 / Ombudsman
No / 664 / 64% / 63% / 100% / 0%
Yes / 327 / 36% / 14% / 0% / 0%
Disability not provided / 41 / 0% / 24% / 0% / 100%
1032
The table below shows the rate of return and satisfactions levels of how complaints have been dealt with. Satisfaction questionnaires are sent to 100% of formal complaints approximately one month after their complaint has been closed. The number of forms returned relates to the number of forms received by YHN in that quarter.
In line with other reports presented to the committee this is now being reported in the new format with demographic information.
Formal Questionnaires Qtr1 - Demographic Information
Gender / Total Responses / % / % Satisfied / % Neither / % Dis-satisfied
Female / 20 / 56% / 35% / 10% / 55%
Male / 8 / 22% / 50% / 0% / 38%
Gender not provided / 8 / 22% / 38% / 0% / 50%
36
Age / Total Responses / % / % Satisfied / % Neither / % Dis-satisfied
16 to 24 / 1 / 3% / 100% / 0% / 0%
25 to 34 / 8 / 22% / 0% / 12% / 88%
35 to 44 / 6 / 17% / 33% / 0% / 50%
45 to 54 / 5 / 14% / 40% / 20% / 40%
55 to 59 / 2 / 6% / 0% / 0% / 100%
60 to 64 / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
65 to 74 / 4 / 11% / 75% / 0% / 25%
75+ / 6 / 17% / 67% / 0% / 17%
Age band not provided / 4 / 11% / 50% / 0% / 50%
36
Ethnicity / Total Responses / % / % Satisfied / % Neither / % Dis-satisfied
White British / 31 / 86% / 42% / 7% / 45%
White Irish / 1 / 3% / 0% / 0% / 100%
White Other / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - White and Black Caribbean / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - White and Black African / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - White and Asian / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Mixed - Other / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Asian or Asian British - Indian / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Asian or Asian British - Pakistani / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Asian or Asian British - Bangladeshi / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Asian Other / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Black or Black British - Caribbean / 1 / 3% / 0% / 0% / 100%
Black or Black British - African / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Black Other / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Chinese / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Other Background / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Ethnicity not provided / 3 / 8% / 33% / 0% / 67%
36
Religion or Faith / Total Responses / % / % Satisfied / % Neither / % Dis-satisfied
No Religion / 6 / 19% / 17% / 0% / 67%
Christian (all denominations) / 16 / 52% / 50% / 0% / 44%
Buddhist / 1 / 3% / 0% / 100% / 0%
Hindu / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Jewish / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Muslim / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Sikh / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Any other religion or faith / 1 / 3% / 0% / 0% / 100%
Prefer not to say / 1 / 3% / 100% / 0% / 0%
Religion not provided / 6 / 19% / 17% / 0% / 67%
31
Sexual Orientation / Total Responses / % / % Satisfied / % Neither / % Dis-satisfied
Heterosexual/Straight / 28 / 78% / 43% / 4% / 46%
Gay Man / 2 / 6% / 50% / 0% / 50%
Gay Woman / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Bisexual / 0 / 0% / 0% / 0% / 0%
Prefer not to say / 1 / 3% / 0% / 100% / 0%
Sexual orientation not provided / 5 / 14% / 20% / 0% / 80%
36
Long term illness, health problems or disability / Total Responses / % / % Satisfied / % Neither / % Dis-satisfied
No / 14 / 39% / 36% / 7% / 50%
Yes / 13 / 36% / 46% / 8% / 39%
Disability not provided / 9 / 25% / 33% / 0% / 67%
36
The table below shows the breakdown of the claims and compensation given to customers. The information shows that there is no trend or pattern to how much is given to our customers. It does show that we are only dealing in very small amounts when compared to the number of repairs and works carried out in our customers homes.
Q3 8/9 / Q4 8/9 / Q1 9/10 / Q2 9/10 / Q3 9/10 / Q4 9/10 / Q1 10/11 / Q2 10/11
Discretionary Allowance / £800 / £770 / £280 / £910 / £670 / £1002 / £665 / £360
Discretionary Payments / £541 / £2,170 / £303 / £192 / £150 / £343 / £508 / £173.32
Inevitable Damage / £1,449 / £1,012 / £1,401 / £1,597 / £2,624 / £2,322 / £1,670 / £1559
Sorry Fund / £300 / £407 / £130 / £75 / £75 / £235 / £150 / £170
Financial Compensation / £1,438 / £4,097 / £450 / £1,166 / £519 / £2,087 / £1,205 / £1,050
4. / The Business Implications
Mission and Strategic Objectives:
- Support and care to the communities
- Three star excellent services
- A quality workforce
- Refurbishing and building homes
Value for money/efficiencies;
HouseMark benchmarking exercise shows YHN is delivering excellent value for money on complaints
Resources (financial, property, technological or human):
There are no direct financial implications of this report.
Impact on services/performance:
Services are now being continually reviewed and improved following key messages from our customer.
Outcomes for tenants/leaseholders:
Our customers will benefit from the improvements to the services delivered. Customers will also be made aware that they can influence the service through telling us what they think about the services through Compliments and Complaints.
Risk (reputation, relationship):
The central approach to Compliments, Complaints and Comments needs to engage all staff to log information. If the information is not logged centrally the process of improving services across the whole organisation will not be consistent and could result in pockets of excellent services and poor services.
Environmental:
There are no immediate environmental issues contained in this report.
Legal:
As an organisation YHN must comply with Data Protection regulations. In publishing the learning actions YHN must ensure that no personal data is included.
Equality and Diversity:
Key messages from our customers are considered in line with our equalities and diversity strategy. Information about the demographic profiles of customers is collected and analysed to ensure that no groups are disadvantaged in this process and to identify any trends in service delivery that may indicate discrimination or disadvantage.
Stakeholder Involvement/consultation:
The policy review during 2010-11 has seen a programme of consultation with our customers as well as benchmarking through HouseMark and directly with other service providers. Our customers have made suggestions which have been accepted as changes to the policy.
All information about learning actions and outcomes is considered quarterly by the Homes & People editorial panel for consideration of inclusion in the magazine.
5. / Conclusion and recommendations
There are no areas of concern for committee to consider which could effect YHN strategy or policies following decisions made at either a local level or by the Ombudsman.
Background Papers:None
Contact Officer:
If you have any questions about this report that you would like clarifying before the meeting, you can contact Wilf Keilty by telephone on 0191 2116619 or e-mail , orLinda Henderson Gray by telephone on 0191 2788 666 or email