Missed bin collections sees council complaints rocket

31/07/2023 @ 09:37

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

The level of complaints received by Powys County Council reassures a councillor that people still expect the authority to do better, and missed bin collections are a big reason why.

At a recent meeting of the council’s Governance and Audit Committee, members looked at a report on the number of complaints received by the council over a two-year period from November 2020 to the end of October 2022.

The report explains that complaints have gone up by 38% from in 2021/2022 from the previous year.

This is due to a 75% increase for Highways Transport and Recycling (HTR) because of staffing shortages leading to missed bin collections, and a 66% increase for Housing and Community development.

Starting from a low base, the complaints against schools and education had gone up by 162%.

Interim Director of Corporate Services, Emma Palmer, said: “It’s all very well having complaints, but the important part is that we resolve and learn from them. It’s really important that we have that to help us with our continuous improvement.”

Ms Palmer went on to explain that once investigated, the complaint would be judged as “upheld”, “not upheld”, “partially upheld” or discontinued.

During the second year, following advice issued from the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales in September, the “partially upheld” complaint category was discontinued.

Ms Palmer added that themes have emerged from the pattern of complaints, and these include: the need to review processes, staff training, insufficient resources, lack of clarity or information on timescales and customer expectations.

She said: “We need to further develop the lessons learned approach to meet the standards that I certainly expect.”

Ms Palmer explained this would include providing recommendations on how to prevent future complaints and track their implementation.

Cllr William Powell said: “In a perverse way, the level of complaints is reassuring as it means people still think we’re capable of better.

“They are not ground down to just shrugging their shoulders and saying what do you expect of Powys. There’s an expectation there but obviously the critical point is how it’s delivered.”

Committee Vice-Chairman and Lay Member, John Brautigam, believed that the figures for rubbish and recycling collections are “alarming” and possible explanation is that the service interacts and is seen by residents more than others.

Cllr Pete Lewington said: “I’m pleased to hear the response about learning lessons as that’s vitally important to make sure we don’t repeat the same mistakes.”

The report will also go to a future meeting of the cabinet for discussion.

Figures for November 2020 to October 2021.

Legal and Democratic Services

Number of complaints – 8 – complaints upheld 3 – complaint not upheld – 4 – partially upheld – 1.

Economy and Digital services

Number of complaints – 9 – complaints upheld – 7 – complaints partially upheld – 2.

Highways, Transport, and Recycling

Number of complaints – 164 – upheld – 100 – not upheld – 50 – partially upheld – 7.

Housing and Community Development

Number of complaints – 53 – upheld – 27 -not upheld – 18 –partially upheld – 7.

Planning, property, and public protection

Number of complaints – 77 – upheld – 14 – not upheld 58 – partially upheld – 5.