Orkney Islands Council saw a 50% rise in the number of complaints it received over one year, mostly because of one issue – bin collection.
The council saw a total of 166 complaints between April 1 2022 and March 30 this year, compared to the 111 it saw in the previous financial year.
A report due to go to the council’s Monitoring and Audit committee gives an overview of how the council is handling its complaints.
Exact figures are not given around the subjects of complaints
However, the report repeatedly mentions the “large number” of complaints the council received about one specific issue.
In official terms, this is the council’s “communication of changes relating to waste collection operational practices”.
In other words, whether it was OK to put a stone on top of your bin to stop it blowing open.
This relates to a stand-off between Orkney residents and the council last autumn.
The council said its binmen couldn’t empty bins that had had their lids weighed down against the wind with stones or bricks.
Residents issued complaints as they were left “dissatisfied” or “unsure” about how to secure their bins, the report says.
How did the Orkney bin lid row end?
The council says it learned from the situation by issuing a press release.
Also, new methods of securing bin lids were found, trialled by staff, and shared with the public.
In fact, the report claims the number of complaints about this issue was so high it “skewed” the annual figures.
The report states that 81% of the 2022/23 complaints were closed at the first stage of the council’s complaints process.
Of the stage 1 complaints, 51% were upheld by the local authority, with 41% not upheld, and 5% partially upheld.
Complaints that went on to stage two, i.e. those that required an investigation, had a response time of 20.4 days.
This is just over the 20 days recommended by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.
Of these complaints, 48% were upheld, 32% weren’t, and 20% were partially upheld.
Comments attached to the council’s report said that 50% being upheld shows that the council is acknowledging its mistakes, apologising, and taking action on them.
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