Decision details

The purpose of this decision is to approve a revised Feedback and Complaints Policy for South Cambridgeshire District Council.

This policy brings together three previously separate policies: SCDC’s Complaints Policy (excluding Housing Complaints); the SCDC Housing Complaints Policy; and the SCDC Persistent and Vexatious Complaints Policy. This approach is to ensure that all information relating to complaints about the Council can be easily found in one place.

The policy also sets out how customers can submit feedback and complaints, and what customers can expect from these processes. At the heart of this approach, we aim to identify and put right where something has gone wrong, and to learn from the feedback and complaints that we receive.

Approval of the new Feedback and Complaints Policy.

The new policy consolidates three previously separate policies, ensuring that information about our approaches to complaints handling can be easily found.

The new policy updated previously outdated policies and replaces them with a document that accurately reflects the current situation in relation to complaints handling at SCDC.

The new policy will act as a mechanism for ensuring the application of a consistent and high-quality approach to complaints handling across each of the Council’s departments, contributing to improved performance in this important aspect of customer service.

Option 1: Retain our three existing complaints policies

Reason for Rejection: Having three separate policies covering various different aspects of the Council’s approach to complaints handling makes finding the required information unnecessarily complicated, whilst all three policies are also in need of updating.

Option 2: Make further changes prior to approval.

Reason for Rejection: This policy has been updated in consultation with key internal stakeholders who are involved in complaints handling processes. It has also been created with due regard to best practice guidance that has been made available by both the Local Government Ombudsman and the Housing Ombudsman. The policy has been reviewed and discussed by Leadership Team, with minor alterations having been made and subsequently incorporated. Moving forwards, further reviews of the policy and opportunities to update the policy will continue to remain available.