Customer First programme - Annual Report 2025

Over the past year, Buckinghamshire Council has taken big steps to improve how we support residents by introducing new Customer Service Standards. These standards apply across the whole council, not just in our Customer Service Centre, so that no matter which service you contact, you’ll receive the same clear, responsive and caring approach.

Our new standards are built around four simple promises: we will be easy to deal with, helpful, fair and honest (explained further on the next page). They set clear expectations for things like how quickly we respond, how we communicate, and how we make our services accessible and accountable. We know every service is different, so these standards have been designed in partnership with teams across the council to make sure they are fair, realistic and focused on improving your experience. We want a clear, aligned approach to call wait times, resolution times, customer satisfaction rates, and resolving email and online requests consistently and promptly.

This is about more than just setting high standards. It is about creating a culture of learning, transparency and continuous improvement. We want every interaction with the council to feel consistent and professional, and we are committed to listening and adapting based on feedback.

To make this happen, we are also improving the systems behind the scenes. We are introducing better tools to track and manage enquiries, upgrading our phone systems, and using real-time reporting to spot issues quickly and fix them faster. By using customer insight and data, we can understand what matters most to our communities and make changes that really count.