Decision details

The Committee considered a report by the Senior Communications and Feedback Officer (circulated previously) regarding Compensation Payments made under Delegated Powers.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that:

·       This was an annual report on compensation payments made to customers through the complaints process from April 2021 to March 2022.

·       The existing constitution gave delegated powers to Officers to agree compensation payments following investigation through the Councils complaints procedures, subject to consent from the relevant Head of Service and the Head of Governance.

·       Compensation was only ever paid out when a customer had used excessive time and trouble to get their complaint resolved or where the investigating officer felt that the complaint warranted a refund and/or compensation due to the impact the service failure had on the customer. Most complaints were resolved without compensation being paid.

·       A total of £561 had been paid out in compensation, which covered a variety of services:

Ø  One Trade Waste customer was refunded £60.28 and another £18.90 for missed collections.

Ø  Two customers were refunded for their £40 garden waste permits after issues with the service.

Ø  A bulky waste customer was refunded £17 for a missed collection.

Ø  Two customers were offered £30 each for errors in council tax processes.

Ø  £250 was awarded to a customer due to slow response to a planning application.

Ø  Three customers had their £25 parking fines refunded.

Ø  32 customers had garden permits extended at a cost of £2,200 for missed garden waste collections.

Ø  One customer accepted some flowers after she tripped over in a car park and one customer was offered a day’s free parking due to unclear instructions on charging leading to his overpayment.

In response to a question regarding the extension to garden waste permits, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that there was no financial implication to the Council and the renewal date would just be extended by a couple of months.

In response to a question regarding planning application extension requests beyond the eight and sixteen week period, the Chief Executive advised that the performance data in relation to these requests formed part of the Council’s Quarterly Performance report to Members.

The Chair advised that the Head of Planning, Housing and Health could be invited to a future meeting of the Committee to discuss any concerns that Members may have.

The Chief Executive added that he would also like the Committee to compare the figures for North Devon against other local authorities as this was a common theme in local government at the current time.

RESOLVED:

(a)  that the report be noted; and

(b)  that the Head of Planning, Housing and Health be invited to a future meeting of the Committee to discuss the extensions to planning application responses and other concerns that the Members might wish to discuss.