Environment \ The Building Control Service \ Customer Charter

Customer Charter

Our purpose:
To be a valued service that protects people and the environment by ensuring safe, sustainable and accessible buildings for all.

We promise:

· a warm and courteous welcome.
· to meet our customers expectation in providing an excellent level of service.
· an equitable, value for money services to our customers and for our citizens.
· an open and helpful service.
· to measure and publish our performance against our service standards monthly.
· implementation of our empowering legislations to be in line with the Concordat Principals (copy available at Reception).
· improvements in public awareness of our services.
· the provision of easy to understand up to date information about our services.
· a prompt and helpful response to enquiries.
· to service to all parts of the community.
· to answer, publish and review all service complaints.

How you can help us improve
We welcome your suggestions for improving our services and will regularly carry out customer surveys to ensure that we meet your needs. We invite you to make a comment in our Customer Comments Book, which is available at the Reception Desk, or alternatively speak to a member of our staff.

Customer Charter Forms
The results of the Visitor Satisfaction Survey are displayed on our notice-board in our Reception area

Customer Charter News
As part of the review of public adminstration (RPA), Newry & Mourne District Council will be merging with Down District Council. Over the next 12 months Down Building Control and Newry & Mourne Building Control Departments will be working closely together to ensure uniformity in their approach to all aspects of their work

Newry and Mourne Building Control Department provides regular feedback to its customers on performance against the service standards. During the last 12 months we implemented the following sample of improvements, some of which were as a result of customer comments and suggestions:

1. Business Support is now available between 1:00 pm and 1:15 pm and between 1:45 pm and 2:00 pm.
2. New updated Service Level Agreements for Building Regulations and Licensing Services, enabling more equitable standards.
3. Customer Comments cards to our customers.
4. Three new Senior Surveyers have been appointed within the Building Regulations section of Building Control.
5. Annually carry out customer care surveys.
6. Updated the Building Control website and the Newry & Mourne Building Control website.
7. Improve street nameplating throughout the Newry & Mourne District.
8. Representation of staff on various panel meetings, which included Fire Safety and Standards Panel, Marketing Panel and Training and Communication Panel.
9. Looked at our internal policies and procedures with a view to providing a new flexible and efficient service.

Planned Improvements for the future

1. New building regulation software to be installed in December 2009.
2. New Website to incorporate both Down District Council and Newry & Mourne District Council.
3. Customer focus group meetings, to discuss suggested improvements made by our customers during a recent customer satisfaction survey.
4. Additional leaflets to be launched in pictorial format.
5. Leading up to RPA, Down District Council and Newry & Mourne District Council Building Control Departments will be looking at our procedures and work practices and implementing any improvements.

Your right to complain

A complaint is simply defined as "an expression of dissatisfaction with the service which requires a response."

We are currently investigating a new Corporate Complaints procedure for the Council. However, until this has been implemented, we will still be operating our departmental Complaints Procedure.

The complaints procedure is available to all the Department’s customers or anyone acting on their behalf. The Department has established an effective complaints procedure which:
· is easily accessible and advertised widely
· is easy to understand and use
· operates promptly within a specific timetable established to deal with complaints
· ensures that the complainant is kept informed at all times about what is happening to their complaint
· is fair, with a full and unbiased enquiry
· is confidential, in order to ensure fairness to the complainants and staff
· produces information which will help us to learn how to improve the service
· ensures that it is possible to take relevant steps to eradicate shortcomings in the service

Customers/individuals may submit a complaint in person to one of the Council's officers, by phone, in writing or through any of the Council's elected members.

The Department has a specific procedure to deal with customer complaints and as part of that procedure it is noted that the Department will acknowledge the receipt of complaints within 5 working days and respond to the complaint in full within 15 working days. Where it will not be possible to respond in full within this period, due to the need to conduct internal enquiries, the complainant should be informed of that situation within 15 days, and every 5 days thereafter, and the performance will be monitored on a regular basis.
In addition, the Department aims to resolve 90% of complaints received within 15 working days.

If there are any aspects of the level of service we provide that do not meet the expectations of you, our customer, you can challenge this by telephone or in writing.

We welcome your suggestions for improving our services. Our Customer Charter can be produced in Braille, photocopied in large print format and provided on audio-tape or CD on request. If you have any comments or would like further information about our Customer Charter please contact the Reception Desk on +44(0)28 30313000.