Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Deputy Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2010/115

Contact: Tracy Luck, Head of Strategy Tel: (01865) 816383

Report by Head of Strategy (CA11).

The purpose of this report is to seek approval from Cabinet for the Oxfordshire County Council Customer Service Strategy.

The Customer Service Strategy forms an important part of our commitment to delivering better public services.  It sets both a strategic approach to embedding excellent customer service across the Council and actions by which this will be achieved in the short to medium term.

More explicit Customer Focus, including managing our reputation, is one of the individual streams of work within the County Council's Business Strategy.  We aim to put customers at the heart of everything we do, and will use this focus on customers to make cost savings.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve the Customer Service Strategy and its 18-month action plan.

Cabinet considered a report seeking approval of the draft Customer Service Strategy.

Councillor Fooks, Opposition Deputy Leader commented that the Strategy had been a long time in preparation and referred to earlier initiatives. The standards for responding to emails and letters needed to be reinforced with employees.

The Deputy Leader replied that the intention was to embed the standards into the Council culture.

RESOLVED:                         to agree the draft Customer Service Strategy, and to receive quarterly updates on its implementation in line with the action plan.