Deputy Leader – Adults & Health Cabinet Member – Minutes – 7 August 2020
1 ADULT SOCIAL CARE SERVICES STATUTORY COMPLAINTS, COMPLIMENTS AND REPRESENTATION REPORT – ANNUAL REVIEW 2019-20 – The Director: Governance and Partnerships submitted a report presenting the Adult Social Care Services Statutory Complaints, Compliments and Representation Report – Annual Review 2019-20 in line with statutory requirements.
There was a statutory requirement to present an annual report on representations and complaints, which had been addressed under The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations 2009, Making Experiences Count. The annual report was attached as an appendix.
These statutory procedures conferred on service users, or representatives acting on their behalf, the right to make representations about social care services for older people; people with a physical disability and people with a learning disability.
There was a requirement that local authorities addressed these representations through a two-stage procedure. The first stage of the process rested with the local authority and applied the principles of a local resolution based on “do it once, do it right”. The second stage was a referral to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
During 2019-20, there were 35 complaints about social care for adults. This is 12.5% fewer than the previous year and represents 2% of service users. The annual report provided a summary analysis of the complaint issues and findings.
After the council’s complaints process had been completed, the complainant had a route of appeal to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. Five complaints were escalated to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and 2 of these were upheld. This compared to 4 complaints received in the previous year, 2 of which were upheld. A separate report on the findings of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Review Letter 2019-20 would be considered by the Resident Engagement and Rural Partnerships Cabinet Member later in the year.
The service used complaints findings to inform service development and improvement. The report provided an overview of the actions taken as a result of complaints information and demonstrated an overall positive direction of travel for complaints handling.
Resolved – That the Adult Social Care Services Statutory Complaints, Compliments and Representation Report – Annual Review 2019-20 be received and approved for publication.