Complaints by Service Area

Please provide the following information regarding complaints received by the council for the period 1 April 2025 to the present date:



1. The total number of complaints received by the council.

1a. A breakdown of complaints by service area where recorded (for example planning, waste collection, housing, environmental health, customer services, etc.).



2. The outcome of complaints were recorded (for example upheld, partially upheld, not upheld, resolved informally).



3. The number of complaints escalated to a second stage or formal review.



4. Please provide the information in spreadsheet or tabular format where possible.

1-2. Under the Freedom on Information Act, the information for points 1 & 2 is exempt under Section 22. This is because the information is intended for future publication.

The quarter 4 and annual reporting will be published to our website soon, however there is one element that will not be covered.

Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information 2000 provides that Information is exempt information if—(a) the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not), (b)the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made, and (c) it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph (a).

Public Interest Test

As the exemption under section 22 is qualified, we are required to carry out a public interest test to ascertain whether the information should be disclosed. The test is required to determine whether the public interest in the exemption being maintained outweighs the public interest in the information being disclosed. If it does not then the information should be disclosed in spite of the exemption being engaged.

Arguments in favour of disclosing the requested information

The Council accepts that there is a general presumption in favour of disclosure of information to provide accountability and transparency, and to assist the public in their understanding of how public authorities work and make decisions and that disclosure of recorded information may also allow greater public participation in the decision making process.

The Council should not be put to unnecessary expense in order to provide this information prematurely as this would result in an unnecessary diversion of time and resources.

The Council is under an obligation to ensure that it provides the correct information to the public and therefore needs to validate the data it holds before disclosing the information into the public domain, as incorrect data could be misleading and confusing.

The Council has determined that the public interest arguments favouring the exception outweigh the public interest in the information being disclosed.

Therefore, the Council is satisfied that the exemption at Section 22(1) is engaged and the public interest favours the exemption. The Council has therefore determined that the information requested will not be disclosed.

3. The number of complaints that went to a Stage 2 escalation for review were: 72 (within that time period).