Agenda, decisions and minutes

At this point Members are asked to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have in the business on the agenda.

The Cabinet Member was invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests she might have in the business on the agenda.  None were declared.

To approve and sign the minutes of the Decision Session of the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services held on 18 October 2011.

RESOLVED:       That the minutes of the Decision Session held on 18 October 2011 be approved and signed by the Cabinet Member as a correct record.

At this point in the meeting, members of the public who have registered their wish to speak at the meeting can do so.  The deadline for registering is 5.00pm on Monday 19 December 2011.

Members of the public may register to speak on:-

·        An item on the agenda

·        An issue within the Cabinet Member’s remit

·        An item that has been published on the Information Log since the last session

It was reported that there were no registrations to speak under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme.

This report presents a revision of the council’s Customer Complaints Policy (now referred to as the draft Customer Feedback Policy) for approval, incorporating changes identified in a review of complaints by the Effective Organisation Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

RESOLVED:       That the revised Customer Complaints and Feedback Policy, as recommended by the Effective Organisation Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 21 January 2011, be approved with the following amendments in respect of the timescales for each stage of the feedback process:

                                      Stage 1 – 5 day response

                                      Stage 2 – 15 day response

                                      Stage 3 – 20 day response

REASON:            To ensure that the council has effective policies and procedures in place to consider feedback from customers and that these are responded to in a timely way.

The Cabinet Member considered a report that presented a revision of the council’s Customer Feedback Policy for approval.  

The policy incorporated changes as identified in a review of complaints by the Effective Organisation Overview and Scrutiny Committee published on 21 January 2011.

The Cabinet Member was also asked to consider a further amendment to include a new five day response deadline for Stage 1 complaints in line with a Cabinet priority for 2011/12.   The Cabinet Member confirmed that the timescales for each stage of the feedback process should be as follows:

          Stage 1 – 5 day response

          Stage 2 – 15 day response

          Stage 3 – 20 day response

The Cabinet Member noted that it was proposed that the policy would be entitled, “Customer Feedback Policy”.  She expressed reservations that this may make it more difficult for customers to find out how to make a complaint.  To improve accessibility she suggested that the policy be entitled “Customer Complaints and Feedback Policy”.

RESOLVED:       That the revised Customer Complaints and Feedback Policy, as recommended by the Effective Organisation Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 21 January 2011, be approved with the following amendments in respect of the timescales for each stage of the feedback process:

                                      Stage 1 – 5 day response

                                      Stage 2 – 15 day response

                                      Stage 3 – 20 day response

REASON:            To ensure that the council has effective policies and procedures in place to consider feedback from customers and that these are responded to in a timely way.