Warwickshire puts complaints in the spotlight
How councils deal with complaints – and compliments – from local people was the topic of a national event that took place in Warwickshire earlier this week (Monday 19th November).
The event was organised by Warwickshire County Council as part of a review it is currently carrying out of how it handles complaints.
Representatives from 12 other local authorities from across the country attended – some from as far afield as Pembrokeshire in Wales and Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
Staff from local councils including Coventry City Council, Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Rugby Borough Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Warwick District Council were also there.
Local Government Ombudsman, Anne Seex, was special guest speaker at the event. She told delegates that a local authority can have the best complaints procedure in the world, but what makes the real difference is the people who handle them.
Speaking from her extensive experience, she also stressed that councils need to ask the right question when dealing with complaints and change their focus from "did we do anything wrong?" to "did we do everything right?".
The event was opened by Warwickshire County Council’s Chief Executive, Jim Graham, and Leader of the Council, Councillor Alan Farnell, gave the closing address.
Warwickshire County Council will use feedback from the day to inform the next stage of a review of its own corporate complaints procedure, which it is planning to re-launch in spring next year.