Falkirk Council says it has taken action to improve the way it handles complaints as numbers climbed sharply in 2022/23.
Members of Falkirk Council’s Scrutiny committee heard that while the population of the district fell slightly from 160,890 in 2022/23, to 158,450 in 2023/24, the number of complaints rose from 4675 to 5458.
Of the 5458 complaints received across all departments, including housing and social work, 88 per cent were resolved at the first stage, which was an improvement on the year before.
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Of these, 463 were upheld, 680 were partially upheld, 2226 were not upherld and 1426 were resolved.
Members heard that training had been given to council staff to make sure that complaints were handled properly.
The report highlighted changes to the council’s Contact Centre, where efforts have been made to recruit and train staff.
This reduced the time customers had to wait to speak to a team member from 21 mins to an average of 3-4 mins.
Councillor Lorna Binnie said it was noticeable that the number of complaints has steadily increased since 2016 and asked what could be done to stop this.
She also asked for more data about the type of complaints that were being received and was told that this was available to council services who used the information to find patterns and themes.
Cllr Binnie was told that complaints can be “an opportunity to learn” and that rising numbers could be because members of the public are more aware of how to complain.
Members heard that council officers were not sure what was behind the marked increase but any change in service delivery usually leads to a number of complaints.
According to the report, complaints led to Falkirk Council making changes to traffic management after a booking system was introduced at its Household Waste Recycling Centres.
Staff started earlier to “meet and greet” residents and guide them through the new process.
Lessons were also learned after Children’s Services Social Work received a large number of complaints from parents and elected members when letters about a summer activity scheme were sent out on the last day of summer term.
The council acknowledged that families should have been told earlier and a letter of apology was sent to all families. The process has been reviewed for next year, taking on board feedback from parents and families involved.
According to the report, Social Work Adult Services have been concentrating on meeting timescales for dealing with complaints.
Housing and communities have improved average response times for both Stage 1 and Stage 2 by introducing procedures such as weekly and quarterly reporting.
Over the year, 44 complaints were considered by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman during 2023/24.
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