Agenda item

Purpose: To inform the Committee of the current performance of the Public Protection Partnership in line with the operating model and business plan, provide an update setting out the Service’s response to the Covid19 pandemic and an update on the work of the Case Management Unit.

Sean Murphy, Public Protection Manager, informed the Committee of the current performance of the Public Protection Partnership in line with the operating model and business plan; provided an update setting out the Service’s response to the Covid19 pandemic and an update on the work of the Case Management Unit.

It was noted that since the last meeting the country had gone in to a lower level of Covid related restrictions so less work was required in that area, but there were still some aspects of Covid measures to be managed such as quarantine hotels.

Anna Smy (Strategic Manager – Response) noted that complaint levels had remained steady although the type had varied as regulations changed. Social media interactions and use of the website to report issues had increased.

Staffing represented a potential risk; additional Covid  funding was being used to bring in staff to catch up on areas which had been less of a priority during the pandemic e.g. food safety inspections. At the time, between three and five members of staff were being used for Covid recovery work and this put a strain on the department as the normal workload was being handled by fewer people.

Councillor Hilary Cole asked about the web form and the problems of duplicate reporting. Did people get a reference number and updates on complaints once submitted?

In response it was explained that customers did get a reference number to quote in all correspondence. Some cases came through alternative routes or multiple individuals might have complained about a single incident e.g. noise from a pub and this could make it difficult to track who required updates. Most processes did expect officers to communicate the outcome; where it was found that this did not happen it was followed up with the officers responsible.

Councillor Cole asked for reassurance that the Partnership was providing a consistently high level of customer service.

The Chairman said that he felt the service was good but there were occasionally people dissatisfied by a lack of feedback. Improving processes to ensure duplicates were identified and followed up in future was an area for future development, perhaps by looking at technologies available for tracking issues. He recognised the service had been heavily burdened during Covid.

Councillor Rick Jones asked how pre-Covid levels of licensing applications compared to current levels? Officers explained that there was a drop in the number of license holders last year and the corresponding income those fees brought in, but there had recently been a number of people returning to the taxi industry plus several new entrants. Performance rates were holding up well; temporary support had been brought in. The team was anticipating that the Q2 figures would give some clear indications of recovery at the next JPPC.

Councillor Porter asked Sean Murphy to pass on his thanks to all the officers for their work under difficult circumstances and offered his congratulations to the officer who recently completed their MSc Environmental Health. This was seconded by the Chairman.

Qualifications was an area where the JPPC was doing well but did not always report on fully. The team had been growing their own talent through qualifications support.

RESOLVED that:

1.    the role the Public Protection Service was playing across the Councils with respect to Covid19 response be noted.

2.    the ongoing effect of additional Covid19 related workload on the ability to perform certain functions be noted.

3.    the 2021/22 Q1 performance for the Public Protection Service be noted.

4.    Consideration have been given to any actions or areas of improvement for the service.