We are listening to you so we as a council can do better.
We believe in putting you – the people who live and work in Southwark – at the heart of everything we do.
And a big part of that is listening to what you tell us and acting on it.
That’s why we asked how you feel we respond when you contact us to request a service or report an issue.
Over 6,000 residents and businesses?shared your thoughts and it was fascinating hearing all your views. Thanks so much for taking part.
While I’m pleased that most?people were happy?with the service we provided,?too?many felt we could?do better.?
Most Southwark residents who get in touch with the council tend to do so only once a year and have a positive experience.
Unfortunately, things can go less well if you’ve had to contact us multiple times for the same thing, or if there’s been an unexpected delay with resolving your enquiry.
We’ve listened to your comments and suggestions, and our new Resident Experience Plan has been created to help us improve our service to you.
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The work has already begun.
We’ve updated our website, making it more accessible and offering more information online.
We’re making it easier for you to speak to us on the phone. Between November 2024 and October 2025, we received nearly half a million calls (482,682). That figure includes 97,938 to our critical SMART calls service, which supports many of the most vulnerable people in the borough.
Over 90% of calls were answered during that time, and we’ve recently upgraded our telephone system so we can help even more of you get through to a member of staff first time.
You told us you want more opportunities to talk to us face-to-face, so we’re?improving support when you make enquiries or report issues in our libraries.??
Our MySouthwark service point in Peckham Library offers appointment-based advice sessions and information to residents and council tenants from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. You can book an appointment by visiting the MySouthwark service point in person, or search for ‘mysouthwark service point’ on our website to book online.
From next month, we will be running tests in other libraries and working with local community organisations to investigate how we can best offer the service to more people across the borough.
We?are also holding?face-to-face surgeries to cover areas such as housing and council tax. For example at a recent session at our Tooley Street office, we were able to explain to one resident why she had received a bill she wasn’t expecting and talk her through all her payments and credits for the past two years. By the end of the session, she was happy and relieved?that we had been able to sort things out.?
Our work will continue, as we look at more ways to improve our service to you, and we would love your help.
Please share your feedback, both positive and negative, about your experience when you contact us. It helps us to learn and adapt as we continue to make the improvements our residents need.
We will keep working to make sure you get the service you deserve when you contact us.
