Somerset Council has been challenged over delays responding to residents, after a councillor revealed she waited seven months for a response to an enquiry concerning a vulnerable adult.
Conservative Councillor Dawn Denton raised concerns at Full Council about difficulties residents, parish councils, councillors and MPs are experiencing when trying to get answers from different Council departments.
She said residents had reported telephone waits of up to 20 minutes, difficulties being transferred to officers and enquiries going without acknowledgement or response.
Cllr Dawn Denton asked:
“Residents, parish councils, councillors and MPs are repeatedly reporting difficulties obtaining responses from Somerset Council across multiple departments.
“Of greater concern is the lack of acknowledgement or response to enquiries. I personally waited seven months for a response concerning a vulnerable adult. I have many examples in areas across the Council.
“A simple acknowledgement and realistic timescale would provide reassurance, for me and most importantly for our residents, and reduce repeated calls and emails, which create additional work for everyone.
“What is being done to improve customer service via telephone and email, and to ensure that enquiries are acknowledged and tracked?
“How can the Council ensure the performance statistics reported to members genuinely reflect the experience of all residents, including those whose enquiries remain unanswered or unresolved?”
Responding, Lead Member for Communities, Environment and Climate Change Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts said the Council had received more than 43,000 contacts during August, when the average telephone waiting time was 5 minutes 56 seconds. She acknowledged there had been an increase in abandoned calls during the month, while reporting an overall customer satisfaction score of 88%.
Cllr Smith-Roberts said enquiries passed from customer services to individual departments were then the responsibility of those services and asked councillors to send examples of problems to lead members so they could be followed up. She said the telephone system was functioning and the Council continued to look at improvements to its systems and technology.
The concerns follow previous questions from Conservative councillors about difficulties residents and businesses face obtaining responses from Council services.
In May, Conservative Councillor Mark Healey challenged the Council over communication delays within the planning service, highlighting reports of residents and businesses struggling to obtain updates and calling for phones to be answered and emails returned.
Somerset Conservatives say residents should be able to expect timely acknowledgement of their enquiries, clear information about when they can expect a response and a Council that is accessible when they need help.
