Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code - self assessment

What improvements have we made as a result of learning from complaints?

There are a number of current projects taking this forward which include:

• A customer standards project to design and implement a set of corporate customer standards to ensure a consistent and high-quality approach to customer interactions across our services.
• As a result of feedback from complaints, the council’s Responsive Repairs Team have introduced dynamic resource scheduling within our Contact Centre, which now allows the council to offer up to 90% of residents an appointment at first point of contact, which will reduce delays in carrying out repairs.
• The introduction of a Price Per Property (PPP) repairs model as a more cost-effective way of managing the repair service for our residents.
• A new DLO (Direct Labour Organisation) will be mobilised in Spring 2021 in respect of repairs to communal areas where repairs will be carried out in house, allowing the estate officers and housing managers to have a greater influence on the delivery and quality of the works, whilst reducing delays.
• The launch of the new residents’ portal to allow customers to manage their accounts and repairs online.
• The council’s Home Ownership services are improving the refund process to ensure that they are expedited quickly and are introducing measures to support homeowners with arrears. These measures will in turn reduce the need to take legal action.
• The introduction of a new online complaint form which is integrated into our complaint system, allows us to process and acknowledge complaints within a shorter timeframe.
• Final review action plans.
• Further training for staff handling cases at the earlier stages of the complaint process is being introduced to equip staff with the skills and knowledge to resolve complaints at the earliest possible stage, and therefore reduce escalation.

How do we share these lessons with:

a) residents?
Discussions at Committee Meetings attended by residents.

b) the board/governing body?
Discussions at board meetings.

c) in the Annual Report?
Learning from complaints is considered in corporate committee reports which are produced every six months. Additionally, Lambeth Council has redesigned its reporting tool to add correction actions reporting from January 2021. This insight will enhance the root cause analysis and enable further learning to take place.

Has the Code made a difference to how we respond to complaints?

Yes.

What changes have we made? 

Please see list of improvements as set out in 'What improvements have we made as a result of learning from complaints?'