Information on how we deal with complaints is contained within our policy which can be accessed by the link below:
Our policy is based on the Ombudsman's Complaint Handling Code, which all Housing Associations must comply with, it provides us with instruction and guidance on how we should handle complaints from our customers.
Compliance with the Ombudsman's Code
At the end of each financial year Housing Associations must self-assess their compliance with the Complaint Handling Code, and submit it to the Ombudsman, also making it available to tenants on their website.
View our complaints handling self-assessment form
We can only deal with your issues and improve services if you contact us. You can easily make a complaint via our online form below.
We also accept complaints by telephone, email or in-person. In face, any member of Southway Staff will take your complaint and pass it on to the relevant person to deal with.
Performance Reporting, Improvements and Lessons Learned
Housing Associations must produce an annual report on performance and a Service Improvement Plan which they must share with their Governing Body and Tenants.
We reported performance and service improvement plan to our People and Places Committee, a sub-committee of our Board in May. The documents can be viewed here and here.
The Code also requires us to publish the Governing Body’s response to the report. You can read that in the minutes from the meeting here.
Performance
Our Complaints performance for the 2023/24 financial year is shown below.
|
Quarter |
Number of Stage 1 |
% Completed in time |
Number progressing to Stage 2 |
% Completed in time |
|
Q1 |
29 |
66% |
8 |
63% |
|
Q2 |
26 |
96% |
11 |
91% |
|
Q3 |
27 |
81% |
4 |
100% |
|
Q4 |
58 |
79% |
12 |
75% |
We also had 5 cases reviewed by the Ombudsman. Three of those cases returned a rating of maladministration, one severe maladministration.
Service Improvement Plan
We know we have work to do, but we are committed to improving the Complaints process and responding to 100% of Complaints within target (10 days for a Stage 1 complaint, 20 for a Stage 2). Our Service Improvement Plan focuses on improving our processes and how we communicate with our tenants.
Lessons Learned
We have looked at the trends and data from the Complaints we have received during the last 12 months. As well as the actions in our Service Improvement Plan, we have done the following:
- Invested in more staff to deal with cases of Damp and Mould, as we received a high number of complaints on this subject.
- Made changes to our Repairs Planning process, as we received complaints about late and unfulfilled repairs.
- Had our complaints process independently audited to make sure it was fit for purpose.
- Get Involved
- At Southway we encourage resident participation to shape and improve services.
- We have a Service Improvement Group made up of tenants who give us feedback on how to deal with Complaints.
- Interested? Then e-mail Maureen Ward [email protected] for more details.
