Our promise sets out the standards and principles of how we deliver services to our customers, providing the council with a framework to monitor and measure our performance.
We will make it clear how you can contact or access our services
We will:
- communicate with you and provide services online (self-service online account and forms, email, website, social media) where possible and appropriate. This means you can find information or use services at a time convenient to you
- work with you to find the right support if you have specific access needs, including help with online services
- ensure our services are fair, inclusive and suitable for diverse customer needs
We will be clear and treat you with respect
We will:
- be friendly and easy to understand in our communication and honest about what we can and can't do and why
- keep you informed about relevant changes to the services we provide
- apologise if we make an error, and put things right as soon as possible
We will understand and get things done
We will:
- aim to answer your query at first point of contact. When we can't do this, we will tell you clearly what will happen next
- make sure our staff have the right skills, tools and approach to deliver the services you need
- work together with services across the council and organisations across the city to meet your needs
Help us to keep our promise
You can help us to keep our promise by:
- contacting us and using our services online where you can. This helps us use our limited resources and budget to provide additional support to those who need it
- letting us know if you have any specific needs and giving us all the information required to help provide the services you need
- treating us, and other customers, with respect. We will not tolerate abusive behaviour and will take appropriate action as needed
Tell us how we're doing
We welcome all feedback, including when things don't go right. We are committed to using this information to improve our services.
Please tell us how satisfied you are with our service - this short survey should take you about two minutes.
If you would like to provide a detailed compliment or complaint, you can contact the Customer Feedback team.
Checking our performance against this promise
We check our performance through monitoring:
- customer satisfaction survey results
- compliments and complaints
- information about how our customers contact us
This information is published through our Customer Insight Report annually.
Whistleblowing
Read Brighton & Hove City Council’s Whistelblowing Policy.
Website
We will:
- enable you to self-serve, for example:
- paying your Council Tax
- renewing a parking permit
- enable you to you to report issues, for example:
- missed bin collections
- broken pavements
- provide up to date information about services we deliver and any changes that may affect you
- ensure our online services are accessible and simple to use
- use your feedback to review and improve our online services
Written communication - online forms, emails and letters
We will:
- ensure all service email addresses and online forms have an 'automatic reply' which tells you about current response times and clearly explains what will happen next
- aim to keep average response times within 10 working days. At busier times or for more complex enquiries, we aim to let you know how long you may have to wait
Phone
We will:
- aim to keep average waiting times under 10 minutes - at busier times we aim to let you know how long you may have to wait
- update voicemails and phone messages regularly to hold accurate information
- aim to respond to voicemails within one working day
- let you know about other ways of contacting us
Face to face
We will:
- support you to access the council service you need where you are unable to do this online or by phone
- make sure our customer service buildings are welcoming, safe and accessible
- aim to assist you on average within 20 minutes. At busier times, we will aim to let you know how long you may have to wait and/or let you know about other ways of contacting us
Social media
We will:
- be clear how we will respond to any queries received
- share relevant information and keep this up to date
- let you know about other ways of contacting us
