Council subject to rise in complaints
THE number of complaints received by Argyll and Bute Council surged by almost 100 in the space of a year, a new report has revealed.
Councillors will be told at a meeting next week that the authority’s services were the subject of 781 complaints across the region between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, with concerns about the conduct of the local authority’s staff the most frequentlyraised topic.
The total compares to 686 between the same dates in 2022-23, and 700 in 2021-22.
The majority of complaints in 2023/24 were closed after the first stage (within five working days), although 74 required escalation before being closed.
There were fewer complaints escalated in 2023/24 than in the previous year.
The report will go before the council’s audit and scrutiny committee at its meeting on Thursday, September 5.
Council chief executive Pippa Milne said in the report:
“Argyll and Bute Council is committed to providing high quality services for residents, businesses and visitors in our area and an important part of this commitment is to ensure we have effective processes in place to resolve matters when things go wrong.
“We strive to be thorough, transparent, objective and fair in our approach to complaints, and to make it as easy as possible for customers to access our complaints procedure through our website, by email, over the telephone or in person.
“I understand it can be disappointing and frustrating when your expectations’ are not met, but we welcome and value complaints and feedback from our customers as it allows us to learn from the issues reported to us to improve the quality of the services we provide.
“It has been a challenging year, and I thank all the staff in my organisation for doing what they do best and going the extra distance to provide the best possible services and support to the people of Argyll and Bute.”
The report also shows that the conduct of staff was the most common theme of complaints during 2023/24, with 64 registered.
A total of 57 complaints were categorised as relating to a council decision, while 46 were classed as ‘education – treatment of child’.
Social work decisions were next, with 44.
The report also features positive feedback given by residents, with one saying: “I was very emotional and upset when I phoned and found a very helpful young lady on the other end of the phone who calmed me down and could find ways of moving my problem forward and that someone will phone me back and I’ll be able to discuss it.
“I found that very helpful. Thank you.”