The Charity Commission has announced a doubling of its complaints in 2010/11 compared with the previous year, but foresees that the effects of its budget cuts could see complaints rise even further.
The total number of formal complaints about the Charity Commission in the year was 185, more than double that of the previous year (91), according to the regulator's complaints review published yesterday.
Customer satisfaction levels were also described as 'low' at the conclusion of the complaints procedure and some 22 apologies and three consolatory payments were issued, totalling £400.
But given the "radical changes" the Commission is to undergo following the loss of almost one-third of its funding, the review predicted a likely increase rather than a reduction in complaints:
"It is possible that the radical changes to the way in which the Commission performs its role in the future will lead to greater numbers of complaints in the short term, at least during periods of transition," the Commisison advised in its report.
Sam Younger, Commission chief executive, added: "The noticeable increase in challenges to our decisions about when and how we exercise our regulatory interests comes at a time when we are having to think carefully about how we use our resources and may provide clues to help us streamline our complaints procedure in the future."
Most complaints based on Commission response to concerns
The majority, 81 per cent, of complaints from 2010/11 related to the Commission's handling of concerns raised by members of the public about charities.
While a significant proportion (68 per cent) were resolved at stage 1, or 'local resolution' level, where a more senior member of the relevant business team dealt with the complaint, 30 were escalated to the Independent Complaints Reviewer. This was down 25 per cent from the previous year. Eight ICR-handled complaints were either partially or fully upheld (4,4).
Younger said: "Complaints represent a tiny portion of our overall activities and I am pleased to see that fewer complaints were upheld, particularly those about the quality of our service delivery."
In March the Commission undertook a review of its ICR which saw Jodi Berg, who had held the position for ten years, replaced by two new providers - the Centre for Effective Disputes Resolution and Complaint Handling and Investigation Associates. The new scheme is now only targeted at the most serious or complex complaints.
Compliments more than doubled
While complaints have risen, so too have compliments, although the increase from 2,088 to 4,325 comes after a move to a new electronic recording system.
"While this may account for some of the increase," said the Commission, "the volume of compliments lends force to our confidence that our standards of service delivery are improving year on year."
The Commission will now work on the need to be accurate and firm in advising service users of decisions made, and applying good customer-service management from the outset to conclusion of any engagement in a bid to reduce the drain on its resources, it said.
