There were 534 complaints to the local authority in 2021/22, compared to 281 the previous year.
Main issues included “inadequate quality or standard of service, or an unreasonable delay in providing a service”, as well as conduct and attitude of staff; and failing to respond to phone calls.
A report on the matter will go before the next audit, risk, and scrutiny committee. It reveals: “This is the highest number of complaints that we have recorded over the past five years.
“The low figures for 2020/21 can likely be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption to public services due to national lockdown. As lockdown restrictions eased, we saw a return to normal levels of complaints. The marked increase in the number of complaints received for 2021/22 could also be partly attributed to better awareness of the complaints handling process both internally and externally.”
Chief executive Dawn Roberts also wrote in the annual report, saying: “We value all feedback we receive from our customers as this helps us to improve the way we do things.
“Please continue to give us your feedback on any aspect of the council’s services, all of which have contributed to the production of this annual complaints monitoring report.”
