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July news

No complaints from Local Government Ombudsman

The Local Government Ombudsman has praised Portsmouth City Council for the way it handles complaints, in its yearly report.

Portsmouth City Council was commended for halving the time taken to respond back to peoples' complaints in comparison to last year.

In the 55 cases looked at by the Ombudsman no cases of maladministration were found, this is defined as finding fault in a way an authority has (or hasn't) done something.

The council's quick response to change procedures as a result of a complaint was also seen as a positive move from the Ombudsman.

Chief Executive David Williams said: "We are delighted with the Ombudsman's comments.

"We understand that when someone complains about our services this actually helps us to make improvements.

"We introduced refresher training for debt recovery staff dealing with sensitive cases, as a result of a complaint, to make sure staff felt confident in handling complex issues.

"We also looked at how we deal with housing repair complaints. Instead of letting the contractors handle the issue, which previously meant a delay, the complaint is processed by the council."

Portsmouth City Council's Cabinet Member for Resources, Cllr Hugh Mason, said: "We want residents to know when they have a complaint, we will address the problem.

"We hope that our new complaints strategy makes it easier for residents to get in touch if they are not happy.

"Complaints can now be accepted both orally and written, whereas before the whole process prevented many from making a complaint.

"Great strides have been made in the past year, halving our response time and we hope that we'll be able to increase this figure in the future."

For a copy of the council's new complaints strategy go to http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/yourcouncil/12918.html

Date : 17 July 2008