It is rank complacency to say Ealing has the third highest population out of the London Boroughs and so it is not bad that it ranks fourth in London ( or seventh in the UK) for having a high number of complaints. The Guardian website profile says of Mr Taylor that “it is always the numbers that count with him”. This is not a numbers game. If it were just a numbers game then it is OK to just go along with the pack of 33 boroughs, and hope that not too many people notice. Also Mr Taylor omitted to say that the number of complaints last year had gone up some 20 percent on the previous year (149 to 178). What this is about is pure and simple – proper procedures, effective training and standards. Not just standards but high standards which go the extra mile. What we want is our letters emails and telephone calls answered in good time, rather than slowly or not at all. Some queries take a long time to research. So an old fashioned polite acknowledgement should be part of better standards. What we want is for council employees, and the Council Subcontractors, to be helpful and give explanations as to how they arrive at decisions rather than just give reasons for decisions. There is a world of difference between these two approaches and Mr Taylor, I am sure, will know what this means. We also want to have our Council Officers at the end of the telephone, rather than have them living in over frequent meetings. Some officers are great. Others are not. Mr Taylor’s Curate’s Egg response is simply not good enough.It is correct that all relevant evidence must be produced and that all avenues must be exhausted in accordance with Council complaints procedures before any Ombudsman will accept a complaint, although some Ombudsmen offices will give guidance. It is not correct that a complainant is under an obligation ask a local Councillor to assist as part of the complaints system. It is simply another additional option. It is an option to blog (politely) and also an option to go to the media or raise a petition, write to the Chief Monitoring Officer of the Council, or sometimes go through the courts, with prior advice (which depending on the nature of the complaint will be cost free up to certain limits for someone on Welfare Benefits or a low(ish) income.As regards going to Councillors for help this is generally a luck of the draw situation. If you have an active Councillor like Mr Taylor, then fine. If you have an inactive Councillor then tough. The latter need to go on an attitude training course or should resign to make way for quality people, or be fined for non performance. Perhaps Mr Taylor can show us how he can also be proactive about this issue.Basically what is needed is a Council that in a few years becomes a shining example of excellent management and administration practices. Mr Taylor, where is the hard evidence, and is your blog or the Council website going to keep an ongoing record of key objectives failed met or exceeded which is written in plain English?
George Knox ● 6547d