04a JSNA Appendix , item 5. PDF 6 MB - Lambeth Council

DRAFT
treated with respect by their doctor (95/100) and not receiving enough support to
manage a long term condition (53/100) 81 .
Given resource constraints, it is not possible to improve service delivery and
customer service across all services concurrently. Therefore the CFP should
initially focus on improving the customer service experience of low rated services
– activities for young people, planning, council housing, parking and road repairs.
Contact
The contact people have with the council and its partners has an important
influence on their perceptions of these organisations.
The 2005 residents’ survey showed that just under half of residents (47%) had
contacted the council in the previous 12 months. The most popular reason for
contacting the council was to make a complaint (39%), to apply to use a service
(33%) and to ask for advice or information (32%). The main complaints residents
make are about housing (24%), parking (15%) refuse collection/ recycling (13%)
and council tax (12%) 82 .
Telephone is by far the most popular way to contact the council, in 2005, 69%
used the phone to make a complaint and 74% for other contact. Only 13% of
Lambeth residents reported using face to face contact with the council 83 , but this
is a more popular method for housing tenants (37%) 84 and for people to contact
their local police (40%) 85 .
In 2005 written correspondence including email, accounted for a small
percentage of contact (15%). However, access to the internet in Lambeth is
increasing with just under one in four residents (24%) having no access at all in
2007, a fall of 8% since 2005 86 . Older people and more deprived residents are
less likely to have access or the skills and confidence to use it 87 .
Qualitative research conducted in 2005 shows that while people will use the
internet to find information about the council, there is a reluctance to use this
method for issues where either a response is required or a transaction is needed
to take place. Many people perceive the council to be inefficient and believe their
transaction will not be handled correctly or they will not receive a reply. They
81 National survey of local health services 2008. Healthcare Commission.
82 2005 Residents survey.
83 2005 residents survey
84 STATUS tenants survey 2007
85 mruk Metropolitan Police Survey 2006/07.
86 2007 Residents survey
87 Understanding our residents focus groups 2005.
Lambeth JSNA – Preliminary assessment
Version 4
October 2008
141