You can read here how we’re listening to your feedback and performing when responding to complaints we receive.
We report to the Housing Solutions Board twice a year on our complaints performance and each year to the Housing Ombudsman as part of our Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report. Our last report to the Board was in March 2024 covering the period from April 2023 – we’ve set out a summary of the report below. You can read the fuller report here.
The report covered :
- The numbers and types of complaints we receive
- Our response times
- The causes and reasons for complaints
|
Our Annual Complaints and Service Improvement Report was presented to the Housing Solutions Board on 6 March 2024. The Board welcomed the clear improvement evident across all aspects of complaint-handling, from reduced numbers of complaints made to faster response times and higher resident satisfaction with the way residents felt their complaint had been dealt with. The Board was pleased to see the positive impact made by our new dedicated complaints team in their first year. The focus now is on understanding exactly where, and how, improvements need to be made in the services residents receive and experience day to day, to make sure that every Housing Solutions resident feels safe in their home and is proud of where they live. We look forward to the continued improvement in complaint-handling that has been started and the outcomes from drawing out learning following complaints made to the organisation. Angus McCallum – Housing Solutions Member Responsible for Complaints (MRC) |
The numbers and types of complaints we receive
We received 146 complaints over this period – this was 22% fewer than last year. Part of the reason for this was that fewer complaints had to be escalated from stage 1 to stage 2 of our complaints process. More people were happy with the way we dealt with their complaint at stage 1 meaning fewer asked to go to stage 2.
In 2023/24 we had a 3-stage complaints process. We removed the third stage in line with changes the Housing Ombudsman made to the Ombudsman’s Complaint-Handling Code on 1 April 2024.
You can read more about the Housing Ombudsman’s work and requirements here. We had 3 complaints escalated to stage 3 of our process in 2023/24.
Why do we receive complaints ?
Here’s a summary of the types of complaints we received over 2023/24. Like most housing associations, most of the complaints we receive each year are about repairs or maintenance of residents’ homes. We’re working hard to make sure we’re learning from the complaints we receive and improving our services for residents, so people don’t feel like they have to complain. You can give us feedback about our services here.
|
Year |
Asset Management |
Housing, Resident & Community Services |
Other |
|
2021/22 |
91 (61%) |
43 (29%) |
16 (10%) |
|
2022/23 |
120 (65%) |
51 (28%) |
14 (7%) |
|
2023/24 |
94 (64%) |
29 (20%) |
23 (16%) |
How do we compare to other housing associations?
We share information with the Regulator of Social Housing and other housing associations about our services, including complaints. We typically receive fewer complaints than other housing associations.
How quickly do we resolve complaints?
We worked hard to resolve complaints more quickly over 2023/24 following the establishment of our new dedicated complaints team. The team acts as a central point of contact for anyone who makes a complaint to Housing Solutions and ensures complaints are managed quickly and that resolutions we provide are effective for residents. We resolved all complaints at stage 1 in just under 8 working days on average at stage 1 last year (our target time is 10 working days) and we resolved all complaints at stage 2 of our process in just over 12 working days on average (our target time is 20 working days). Our target times match or exceed the Housing Ombudsman requirements.
