Agenda item

Update to North Northamptonshire Council Unacceptable Customer Behaviour Policy

Decision:

RESOLVED

 

KEY DECISION

 

That the Executive approves the North Northamptonshire Council Unacceptable Customer Behaviour Policy

 

 

Reasons for Recommendations –

 

·               The current policy confirming how the Council will manage unacceptable behaviour was drafted under the Future Northants programme board and adopted by the Shadow Executive. It is recommended that policies are reviewed regularly to reflect the environment the authority operates in.

 

·               The Council has a responsibility to mitigate risk and ensure health, safety and wellbeing of staff and contractors and a robust policy should provide clarity on what behaviours are considered unacceptable and how those behaviours will be managed.  The policy will also address persistent vexatious contacts and how these will be managed; these place a strain on the Council’s ability to deliver services impacting other customers by monopolising resources.

 

Alternative Options Considered:Option to not revise and continue to operate under policy drafted by Future Northants and adopted at vesting day. This is not recommended. 

 

Minutes:

The Chair invited Cllr Lloyd Bunday, Executive Member for Finance and Transformation to introduce a report that sought approval of the updated North Northamptonshire Council Unacceptable Customer Behaviour Policy.

 

Cllr Bunday reported that an initial version of the policy had previously been approved by the Shadow Executive for implementation on vesting day but now required revision to better meet both Council and public requirements. Consequently, the draft policy had been significantly consulted upon and considered by the Connected Communities Executive Advisory Panel at its meeting on 28th February 2024, with comments made at that meeting regarding the inclusion of an appeal mechanism and elaborating on potential vulnerabilities of those engaging in unacceptable behaviours factored into the version now before the Executive.

 

It was noted that the revised document provided improved clarity as to customer behaviours deemed unacceptable and methods to mitigate and manage those behaviours. It was acknowledged that the on occasion the Council’s customers needed to communicate with the authority when not in the best place by circumstance, however a fair and transparent policy would allow management to deal with any unacceptable behaviour demonstrated in a robust and timely manner. Details regarding the rollout of the policy and associated toolkit to frontline staff once the policy had been approved were provided.

 

Cllr David Brackenbury spoke to welcome the policy, stating that the draft document was balanced, sensible and offered protection for customer-facing staff. Cllr Brackenbury noted that all members and officers had a duty to keep Council staff safe while undertaking their roles and to discourage abusive and unacceptable behaviour. It was again acknowledged that sometimes customers could find interactions with the Council frustrating, however the policy encapsulated a sympathetic but sensible approach should these frustrations escalate.

 

Cllr Matt Binley spoke to echo support for the policy stating the Council staff deserved to come to work and not fear violence, threats and abuse. It was noted that the relatively few members of the public who stepped over the unacceptable behaviour mark could be dealt with robustly as a result of adopting the policy.

 

 

RESOLVED

 

KEY DECISION

 

That the Executive approves the North Northamptonshire Council Unacceptable Customer Behaviour Policy

 

 

Reasons for Recommendations –

 

·               The current policy confirming how the Council will manage unacceptable behaviour was drafted under the Future Northants programme board and adopted by the Shadow Executive. It is recommended that policies are reviewed regularly to reflect the environment the authority operates in.

 

·               The Council has a responsibility to mitigate risk and ensure health, safety and wellbeing of staff and contractors and a robust policy should provide clarity on what behaviours are considered unacceptable and how those behaviours will be managed.  The policy will also address persistent vexatious contacts and how these will be managed; these place a strain on the Council’s ability to deliver services impacting other customers by monopolising resources.

 

Alternative Options Considered:Option to not revise and continue to operate under policy drafted by Future Northants and adopted at vesting day. This is not recommended. 

 

Supporting documents: