Complaints cost Islington Council over £1m

Published: 19 February 2010

TOWN Hall complaints procedures will be simplified after it emerged grumbles about council services have cost more than £1million to investigate.

Cabinet members agreed on Tuesday to remove Stage 2 of Islington Council’s complaints process in a bid to keep costs down and speed up cases.

They have agreed to spend £10,000 retraining staff to better deal with complaints and remind them to issue apologies swiftly when it is clear the council has done wrong. The Town Hall hopes a simple early “Sorry” will help halt the escalation of some complaints and save money in the long run.

Lib Dem finance chief councillor John Gilbert told the meeting: “I’ve long had a concern that the complaints procedures tend to be longwinded and inflexible, which puts people off making complaints in the first place and if they do complain, they end up complaining about the way they were handled.”

Labour Cllr Richard Greening added: “I think it’s a good idea to take out the stage. We should all welcome a less bureaucratic system.”

During 2008-2009, Islington Council paid out £22,412 in compensation following Ombudsman interventions.