Background
This was Babergh’s first cross cutting Best Value review and had a very wide remit.
Consult
Consultation was carried out through:
- 4 Customer Surveys covering Visitors to the HQ, Telephone Callers, Letter Writers and Visitors to Leisure Facilities
- Focus Groups – public and stakeholders
- Mystery shopper exercise
Compare
Comparison was carried out by:
- Research of existing surveys, including Suffolk Speaks to identify data relevant to the review.
- Research of public data relevant to the review, including other best value reviews.
- Benchmarking exercise
- Audit of our web-site.
Compete
This was carried out through the Strategic Technological Partnership.
Challenge
A number of challenge stages were undertaken:
- Initial Challenge
- Interim Challenge
- Members Workshop
Other work that was undertaken included:-
- Links with work on Investors in People
- Assessing costs
- Links with E-Government Steering Group
- Audit of access arrangements for disabled people
Main Findings
The report gives a commentary of the main findings from the review under the following headings: -
- Communication
- Face to Face Interaction
- Customer Care Policy and Standards
- Consultation
- Involvement & Contribution by the Public in Council Activities
- E-Government Issues (including telephones)
- Access Arrangements
- Publicity, PR, Image and Marketing
Financial Implications
By viewing other authorities best value exercises on Interactions, it is understood that the Audit Commission do not expect authorities to cost Interactions and Customer Interface, as this runs through all service budgets and thus the total cost of the Council’s budget is the cost of interacting with the public and its stakeholders.
However, an appendix to the report sets out to show quantities of some types of interactions/communications. Also the gathering of this data shows a statement in the time of the volume of interactions of specific type, which we can use for future comparison and measurement. This will be useful to show trends in use of methods of communication chosen by our customers and therefore, highlight areas which may need to be amended to meet demand.
Recommendations
The report contains some 33 recommendations in the Action Plan set out at. Of these it is considered that the following 5 issues could have significant costing implications:-
- Changing the target response time for responding to letters (including electronic communications) from 10 to 5 working days.
- Dealing with issues and services out in the community rather than from the HQ.
- One-stop-shop facilities and different reception arrangements at the HQ.
- Adaptations to public buildings including the HQ to meet our obligations for disabled access by 2004.
- Reviewing office hours in the light of public requirements.
The costs of the disabled access recommendation are already known and have been reported to Council. However, the funding provided in the capital programme is not sufficient to meet the 2004 target. All of the other proposals are subject to feasibility studies being undertaken, and reports back to Council.
Where necessary, proposals will be included in next year’s service and financial planning process for funding in 2004/05. Two of the recommendations regarding one-stop-shop facilities and office opening hours could be provided fully or partially through the Strategic Technological Partnership initiative that is being pursued.
A further 9 recommendations in the Action Plan are likely to have less significant costing implications to the ones above. These are detailed below:-
- Providing information and advice through the mobile library service
- Provision of kiosks and/or access points throughout the District
- Having a presence at external high profile events
- Provision of free-phone hotlines
- Improvements to the main doors at the HQ
- Improvements to the Interview Rooms at the HQ
- Addressing the car park problems at the HQ
- Provision of Babergh sign posts on trunk roads into the District
Further work needs to be undertaken on each of these proposals. It may be possible to accommodate some of the work within existing budgets. Where this is not possible bids will need to be made through the service and financial planning system next year for funding in 2004/05.
In addition to the direct costs associated with the recommendations outlined above they all have staffing resource implications, to various degrees, which need to be accommodated into various service plans. The 7 proposals with the most significant resource implications are:-
- Reviewing all aspects of arrangements for dealing with letters.
- Dealing with issues and services out in the community rather than from the HQ.
- One-stop-shop facilities and different reception arrangements at the HQ.
- Provision of kiosks and/or access points throughout the District.
- Developing a Consultation Strategy
- Preparing a Public Involvement Strategy
- Establishing links with ethnic minorities and providing race awareness training.
Recommendations
The following recommendations were agreed:
- The outcomes already in hand for implementation as set out at Appendix 2 be noted.
- The recommendations in the proposed Action Plan at Appendix 3 be approved.
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