Issue - meetings

(i)       in response to a question from Councillor Duncan relating to whether there was a system in place for officers to view previous complaints to ensure that lessons were learnt, to note that there was a system in place and that the Chief Officer Governance would liaise with officers to determine how the information could be presented to the Committee; and

(ii)      to otherwise note the content of the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer which provided information on all Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) and Inspector of Crematoria decisions made in relation to Aberdeen City Council since the last reporting cycle, together with details of the SPSO Local Authority 2016-17 annual statistics tables, to provide assurance to Committee that complaints and Scottish Welfare Fund applications are being handled appropriately.

The report recommended:

that the Committee notes the details in the report.

Councillor Townson sought information in relation to whether the Council were informed of complaints that had been made directly to the SPSO without using the Councils Complaints Procedure, wherein the Senior Customer Experience Officer advised that the SPSO would direct complainants to use the Councils Complaints Procedure and that information on those complaints were not shared with the Council.

Councillor Townson sought clarification as to whether the Council would pursue a complainer if it was found to malicious or fraudulent, wherein the Chief Officer Governance advised that if required it would be decided on a case by case basis.

Councillor Duncan sought further information in relation to complaint handling improvements, wherein the Senior Customer Experience Officer advised that there was a new customer experience platform to monitor complaints and the responses issued from officers; online training for officers had been introduced and face to face training had also been delivered.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       in response to a question from Councillor Duncan relating to whether there was a system in place for officers to view previous complaints to ensure that lessons were learnt, to note that there was a system in place and that the Chief Officer Governance would liaise with officers to determine how the information could be presented to the Committee; and

(ii)      to otherwise note the content of the report.