FI17072
Request
Please provide the following information for the most recent 12-month period for which complete data is available. Please specify the period covered in your response.
For the purpose of this request, please define a “citizen enquiry” as any inbound request for information, support, or service received from a member of the public via any channel, including but not limited to telephone, email, web forums, online portals, and social media. If your organisation uses a different term for such interactions (e.g. customer contacts, resident enquiries, service requests, or public enquiries), please provide the closest equivalent data held.
Questions
Q1. Total volume
The total number of citizen enquiries received.
Q2. First response time
The mean average time taken to provide a first response to a citizen enquiry, measured from the time the enquiry is received to the time of first reply (please specify units, e.g. hours or days).
Q3. Resolution time
The mean average time taken to fully resolve a citizen enquiry, measured from receipt to closure (please specify units).
Q4. Enquiries resolved
The total number of citizen enquiries that were resolved.
Q5. Unresolved/open enquiries
The total number of citizen enquiries that remained open or unresolved at the end of the reporting period.
Q6. First contact resolution
The total number of citizen enquiries that were resolved at first contact (i.e. did not require any follow-up interaction).
Q7. Channel breakdown
The total number of citizen enquiries received via each of the following channels: telephone, email, web form/online portal, other (please specify)
Q8. Service hours
The standard operating hours for handling citizen enquiries, including whether any services are available outside of typical working hours (e.g. evenings, weekends).
Q9: Longest wait time
The longest recorded time taken to respond to a citizen enquiry during the reporting period (please specify units).
Q10. Complaints
The total number of formal complaints received relating to delays or handling of citizen enquiries.
Response
The Council does not have a centralised system for recording what you have termed as ‘citizen enquiries’ and although we may hold some of the information falling within the description specified in your request, it is not readily available. From our preliminary assessment, we have estimated that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for Local Government it is set at £450. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 2½ working days in determining whether the information is held, locating, retrieving and extracting the data. I regret therefore, that on this occasion I must refuse most of your request in accordance with Section 12(1) of the Freedom of Information Act.
I can confirm that the Council does not have standard operating hours for handling citizen enquiries. The Council received 113 formal complaints relating to delays or handling of citizen enquiries during 2025/26.