CWMBRAN’S Bron Afon Community Housing has won an award for customer service excellence, having previously not hit the mark on nine areas of inspection.

To achieve the award, which was approved by government-backed body, Customer Service Excellence, the social landlord had to submit a range of documentary evidence and go through a rigorous independent assessment.

This involved staff, customers and partner organisations.

Bron Afon were required to meet standards in five criteria, including customer insight, organisation culture, information and access, delivery and timeliness and quality of service.

Ian Simpson, the director of community housing, said: “We are chuffed to bits to have been recognised for the fantastic efforts of everyone involved in improving customer satisfaction with our services, which is always a top priority for us.

“The assessors identified just four areas out of 57 where we don’t quite meet the Customer Service Excellence criteria.

"This is no mean feat.

"It’s a big improvement on where we were at the time of the pre-assessment they undertook for us in July when we fell short on nine areas.

“We’re not resting on our laurels, though – we will continue to do all we can to make sure the quality of our services meets the needs of our customers.”