Welcome to the February edition of our blog! 🌟
In this month's issue, we'd like to shine a spotlight on some major updates, such as the unveiling of the Complaint Handling Codes for Local Government and Housing, alongside a comprehensive funding package announcement for councils.
As always, we will also be highlighting news from some of our customers and recommending you a compelling read, "Follow the Money" by Paul Johnson, offering insights into the intricacies of government finances.
Let's dive right in!
Sector News
The new Complaint Handling Code(s) have been revealed
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) and the Housing Ombudsman Service (HOS) have launched their respective Complaint Handling Codes.
In November 2023, both organisations asked for feedback on a single set of rules. Over 150 councils, 250 landlords, and 360 members of the public shared their thoughts.
This resulted in two separate documents:
The Housing Ombudsman’s Code will be statutory and apply from 1 April.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Code is published with the expectation that local councils carefully consider the code when developing policies and procedures.
We have been keeping a close eye on the development of these documents and will share more insights very soon!
Government confirms over £64 billion funding package for councils
📢 In other industry news, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) announced a 7.5% cash increase in funding available to councils in 2024-25.
Here are some quick facts from the announcement:
💷 £500m of funding is assigned to social care.
📃 Councils will need to set out a plan on how they are going to improve service performance and reduce wasteful expenditure.
✅ The plan should focus on: transformation of services to make better use of resources.
📊 As well as: opportunities to take advantage of advances in technology and make better use of data to inform decision making and service design.
Some of our regular followers will know we are building the business case supporting the hypothesis “Good services are cheaper to deliver than bad ones” and this announcement is a small but welcome move to the right direction, highlighting the importance of avoiding Failure Demand in Local Government.
GovMetric Spotlight
🌟 We're thrilled to extend a warm welcome to Islington Council, our newest addition to the GovMetric family! The Council has recently chosen CaseTracker as its complaint management software, and we're excited to support them on their journey.
Additionally, we're delighted to announce the renewal of our partnership with Cornwall Council, we look forward to continuing our collaboration and improving the citizen experience together.
Book Recommendation
This month we were intrigued by "Follow the Money" by Paul Johnson.
Paul begins the book with a staggering single budget figure for UK public services and breaks it down, revealing the intricacies of where the money originates and how it's allocated.
Johnson also talks about the policies behind the money and how they've changed over time. It's a great read for anyone looking to grasp the complexities of government finances and gain a deeper understanding of the numbers shaping our society.
If you would like to discover some of our Customer Stories, highlighting real-world customer experience transformations within the public sector, click below.
Karolis Duoba is the Marketing Manager at GovMetric, home of the leading Citizen Experience Management solution for the public sector.