Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code
Self-Assessment Form - Corby Borough Council
| Standard | Yes | No | |
| 1. | Definition of a complaint | ||
| Does the complaints process use the following definition of a complaint? An expression of dissatisfaction, however made, about the standard of service, actions or lack of action by the organisation, its own staff, or those acting on its behalf, affecting an individual resident or group of residents. |
Yes | ||
| Does the policy have exclusions where a complaint will not be considered? | No | ||
| Are these exclusions reasonable and fair to residents | N/A | ||
| 2. | Accessibility | ||
| Are multiple accessibility routes available for residents to make a complaint? | Yes | ||
| Is the complaints policy and procedure available online? | Yes | ||
| Do we have a reasonable adjustments policy? | Yes | ||
| Do we regularly advise residents about our complaints process? | No | ||
| 3. | Complaints team and process | ||
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Is there a complaint officer or equivalent in post? There are nominated leads for each area of housing that are responsible for complaints being completed. |
No | ||
| Does the complaint officer have autonomy to resolve complaints | Yes | ||
| Does the complaint officer have authority to compel engagement from other departments to resolve disputes? | Yes | ||
| If there is a third stage to the complaints procedure are residents involved in the decision making? | No | ||
| Is any third stage optional for residents? | No | ||
| Does the final stage response set out residents’ right to refer the matter to the Housing Ombudsman Service? | Yes | ||
| Do we keep a record of complaint correspondence including correspondence from the resident? | Yes | ||
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At what stage are most complaints resolved? For the period from 1 October 2019 to 31 March 2020 100% of complaints were resolved at stage 1. |
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| 4. | Communication | ||
| Are residents kept informed and updated during the complaints process? | Yes | ||
| Are residents informed of the landlord’s position and given a chance to respond and challenge any area of dispute before the final decision? | Yes | ||
| Are all complaints acknowledged and logged within five days? | Yes | ||
| Are residents advised of how to escalate at the end of each stage? | No | ||
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What proportion of complaints are resolved at stage one? 100% were resolved at this stage from April - September 2020 |
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What proportion of complaints are resolved at stage two? 100% were resolved at this stage from Oct 2019 - Mar 2020 |
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What proportion of complaint responses are sent within Code timescales? April – September 2020 • Stage one 64% |
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| Where timescales have been extended did we have good reason? | Yes | ||
| Where timescales have been extended did we keep the resident informed? | Yes | ||
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What proportion of complaints do we resolve to residents’ satisfaction? At present we do not capture satisfaction with complaint resolutions, this is something that we shall introduce as we enter Unitary status as a part of North Northamptonshire Council. |
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| 5. | Cooperation with Housing Ombudsman Service | ||
| Were all requests for evidence responded to within 15 days? | Yes | ||
| Where the timescale was extended did, we keep the Ombudsman informed? | Yes | ||
| 6. | Fairness in complaint handling | ||
| Are residents able to complain via a representative throughout? | Yes | ||
| If advice was given, was this accurate and easy to understand? | Yes | ||
| How many cases did we refuse to escalate? | None | ||
| Did we explain our decision to the resident? | N/A | ||
| 7. | Outcomes and remedies | ||
| Where something has gone wrong are we taking appropriate steps to put things right? | Yes | ||
| 8. | Continuous learning and improvement | ||
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What improvements have we made as a result of learning from complaints? We use feedback to identify poor performance in our service provision. Where these are identified, we will actively review our processes to determine whether there is a more suitable method. |
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How do we share these lessons with: a) residents? Lessons and trends are identified and communicated through our Audit & Governance Committee – reports available on the CBC website. |
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| Has the Code made a difference to how we respond to complaints? | Yes | ||
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What changes have we made? • We have revised the dissatisfaction stage of our process and log all communication and attempts to contact the complainant with a goal of resolving within three days, If this is not the case the issue automatically escalates in to our complaints process. |
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