Agenda item

Consideration was given to the Annual Report of Compliments, Complaints and Freedom of Information Activity 2020/2021. The report provided information relating to the work of the Council’s Complaints and FOI Service between 1st April 2020 and 31st March 2021. Specific details were provided on the number and type of compliments received, the different complaints stages, performance and outcomes relating to these and information on compliance with FOI and EIR legislation. There was also a section regarding the contact received by the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales (PSOW) during the reporting period. The Ombudsman’s Annual Letter to the Council which provides further details in relation to the Ombudsman activity for Ceredigion, as well as for other Council’s across Wales.

This was the second consecutive report where there had been no PSOW investigations commenced or formal reports issued in relation to complaints made against the Council.

Whilst improvements had been made in comparison to previous years, this report also highlighted the challenges faced by the Council due to the pandemic and officers having to adapt to new ways of working. In addition, during the period covered by this report there were significant pressures placed on the Complaints and FOI Service, which inevitably had an impact on our ability to meet prescribed and statutory timescales.

The current situation was as follows:-

Brief overview of the figures for 2020 - 2021:

•           814 Compliments were received

•           435 Enquiries were processed by the Complaints and FOI Service

•           103 Complaints were received (61 at Stage 1 and 42 at Stage 2)

•           32 ‘Contacts’ from the PSOW

•           756 FOI and EIR requests

•           Internal Reviews under FOI / EIR legislation

The highlights of the year were provided:-

•           As referred to previously, this was the second consecutive reporting period in over a decade where there have been no investigations or reports issued by the PSOW.

•           The Council received almost double the amount of compliments from service-users compared with 2019 – 2020. The majority of these having been received by Porth Ceredigion. It is believed, however, that the actual number of compliments was likely to be far higher and more work was therefore needed to ensure that these were passed to the Complaints and FOI Service to be recorded.

•           The Council received far fewer FOI/EIR requests during this reporting term and a fewer number of Internal Review requests compared with last year. Requests for Internal Review were usually only submitted when the Council refused to provide information (by applying the appropriate exemptions or exceptions). This therefore supports the Council’s commitment to openness and transparency in accordance with legislation.

•           However, it is noted that the Council’s performance surrounding the response times for FOI, in particular, dropped significantly during 2020-2021. The cause for this could be attributed to several factors including the lack of capacity on the part of services to be able to prioritise FOI above all the new tasks arising; being unable to obtain hard-copies of documents due to home- working; lack of capacity within the Complaints and FOI Service (which undertakes the majority of the administrative work surrounding FOI activity; i.e. recording, acknowledging and distributing new requests and issuing all responses and applying any exemptions/exceptions and/or redactions as required).

The areas to focus on were as follows:-

•           Improving adherence with timescales prescribed in complaints and FOI/EIR policies

•           Improving system for capturing compliments and data surrounding lessons learned

•           Continuing with open, transparent and citizen-centred approach to resolving concerns

Following questions from the floor, it was AGREED

(i) to note the content of the report in advance of its presentation at the Council meeting on 9th of December 2021; and

(ii) to congratulate the Complaints and Freedom of Information Manager and her team for an excellent report