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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.
· 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
a board opposite the Reception Desk.
Customer
Charter News
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 Building Control Leaflets.
3. Ongoing training to our customers on new amendments
to the Regulations.
4. New updated Service Level Agreements for Building
Regulations and Licensing Services, enabling more equitable standards.
5. The development and publishing of advice documents
explaining our services to our customers and citizens.
6. Customer Comments cards to our customers.
7. Additional member of staff employed in the Estates
section of Building Control.
8. Annually carry out customer care surveys.
9. Advertise services that Newry & Mourne District
Council Building Control Department provide.
10. Improve street nameplating throughout the Newry
& Mourne District.
11. Representation of staff on various panel meetings,
which included Fire Safety and Standards Panel and marketing.
Planned
Improvements for the future
1. Update
the Building Control website and the Newry & Mourne Building
Control website.
2. Follow up training to our customers on new amendments
to the Regulations.
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. Review and restructure of Department.
6. Looked at our internal policies and procedures
with a view to providing a new flexible and efficient service.
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.

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