The Council's Complaints Team is currently receiving a much higher number of complaints and enquiries than in previous years. As a result, response times are currently longer than we would normally expect.

Over the last year, demand has increased significantly, including:

• A 43% increase in Stage 1 complaints
• A 145% increase in Stage 2 complaints

Current response times

We are currently acknowledging new complaints and enquiries within approximately 12 working days.

Responses to some complaints and enquiries may also take longer than normal while we work through increased demand and an existing backlog of cases.

We apologise for any delays and thank you for your patience and understanding.

What we are doing to improve

We are taking action to improve the service, including introducing new digital tools, improving processes which will increase capacity within the team. These changes are designed to help us respond more quickly and reduce waiting times.

We are already seeing early signs of improvement and expect waiting times to reduce over the coming months. Our priority is to return to our normal service standards as quickly as possible while continuing to provide a fair, consistent, and high-quality service to all residents.

How you can help

You can help us reduce waiting times by only contacting us again if you have new information to add to your complaint or enquiry. We understand that waiting can be frustrating, but each additional email needs to be reviewed and processed, which can slow down our ability to respond to all residents. By helping us keep correspondence to essential updates, you can support us in responding to everyone more quickly.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation while we continue to improve the service.

Last updated: August 2026