We will:
- offer an appointment for interview within five working days
- see you within five minutes if you have an appointment
- give you an estimate of how long you will have to wait to see a duty officer if you have no appointment
- advise you of our decision or assessment of your homelessness application within 14 days
- work with you to resolve your housing problem within 12 weeks. This is dependent on the type of housing and support you need
- respond in writing to all appeals against decisions within 10 working days.
On the phone
We will:
- answer the phone within five rings whenever possible
- give our name when we answer your call so you know who you are speaking to
- deal with your enquiry or complaint on the spot if we can
- tell you what we can do and when, or tell you why we can’t help (if we can’t help immediately, we will try to tell you who can)
- if we can’t help immediately, we will phone you back within one working day.
Face to face
We will:
- provide private interview rooms
- keep waiting times to less than 30 minutes wherever possible
- give you an estimate of how long you will have to wait to see a duty officer
- wear identification badges
- help you to fill in forms if you need help
- show you identification if we need to visit you in your own home.
With letters and e-mail
We will:
- answer your letters and e-mails within 10 working days of receiving them, or keep you updated if an answer will take longer
- make letters clear and easy to understand
- arrange for letters to be translated, interpreted over the phone, or made available in large print or Braille.
We monitor our performance against these standards and this information is published in the 'how we performed' section.
