10 May 2010

Mr T Wise

Via email ([FOI #33452 email])

Our ref: CS/10/039/HJP

(Please quote our reference when contacting us)

If telephoning contact Hilary Pook on 020 7217 4734

or if using email send to: [email address]

Dear Mr Wise

Request for information

In your email of 20 April you asked for a series of figures in relation to complaints made against Doncaster Borough Council. You asked for figures for 10 calendar years, going back to 2000. First, I should point out that our figures are all produced in financial years, ie 1 April - 31 March, and that is how the figures are presented here.

Complaints received

We did not publish figures on numbers of complaints received by council in 1999/2000 and 2000/01. These figures cannot now be produced, because we only keep records on complaints for 10 years, and some of the complaints that would have been received in these years will now have been deleted from our database.

The remaining years' figures are shown in the table below:

* Note on 2008/09 figure: A change in the way we operate introduced in 2008/09 means that the statistics about complaints received in 2008/09 are not directly comparable with those from previous years. Since 1 April 2008 the new LGO Advice Team has been the single point of contact for all enquiries and new complaints. The number of calls to our service has increased significantly since then. Our advisers now provide comprehensive information and advice to callers at the outset with a full explanation of the process and possible outcomes. It enables callers to make a more informed decision about whether putting their complaint to us is an appropriate course of action. Some decide to pursue their complaint direct with the council first.

You also asked for a breakdown of the outcomes of complaints in each of the same years.

This is shown in the table below:

* Note on premature complaints in 1999/2000 and 2000/01: Similarly to complaints received, we did not publish figures on premature complaints in these years, and we cannot now produce them as soon cases will have been deleted from our database.

You should also note that complaints received and complaints determined (outcomes) will not usually be the same in any one year. This is because some complaints decided in a year will already have been in hand at the beginning of that year, while some complaints received in a year will still be under investigation at the end of that year.

That concludes my response. If you feel I have not dealt properly with your request, you have the right to appeal and, should you wish to do so, I can supply a copy our internal complaints procedure. If you do request an internal review - can you please indicate why you are unhappy with my response. You also have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner to determine whether your request has been properly dealt with. You should note however that the Commissioner will not consider any complaint where you have not first exhausted our internal complaints process or where there has been undue delay in contacting him. You will be able to obtain further details of the Information Commissioner's role from the website on www.ico.gov.uk.

Yours sincerely

Hilary Pook

Hilary Pook (Ms)

Communications and Records Manager

LGO 01 (03/08)