Complaints data for every council in the East Midlands for 2020-21 has been published by the Local Government and Social Care ombudsman as part of its annual review of local government complaints.
For every authority, the data contained within the report, which analyses all the complaints and enquiries the LGSCO has received over the past 12 months, is uploaded onto the ombudsman’s interactive map, which now contains three years of searchable data.
For Erewash Borough Council, statistics show that there were no detailed investigations carried out by the Ombudsman on the subject of complaints, there were no recommendations due for compliance whilst records for the authority showed the provision of 22 historical, separate but satisfactory remedies to complaints.
To allow authorities to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, no new complaints were accepted, and investigation of existing cases was stopped between March and June 2020, which reduced the number of complaints received by the Ombudsman and therefore decided in the 20-21 year.
Data from this year’s statistics shows for the East Midlands region:
- 7% of all complaints from this area
- 59% uphold rate, up from 58% - the smallest increase nationwide, and also the smallest uphold rate
- Most complaints are about Children and Education (21% was 24%)
- Fewest complaints about Highways (7% was 8%)
- Highest uphold rate: Corporate & Other Services (86%) - the highest in the country - was Children and Education (79% now 73%)
- Lowest uphold rate: Highways (14%) was Planning (23% now 42%)
- This region has the lowest uphold rate in the country for Adult Social Care (57%) and Highways (14%)
- This region also has the smallest proportion of its complaints about Environmental Services (10%)
Nationally, over the past year the Ombudsman has upheld a greater proportion of investigations– 67% – than ever before. This continues an upward trend since the Ombudsman started publishing its uphold rate.
Despite being closed to new complaints at the height of the first COVID-19 lockdown, and so registering fewer complaints than recent years, the Ombudsman still received 11,830 complaints and enquiries from members of the public.
The investigations undertaken over the past year have led to 3,104 recommendations to put things right for individuals.
Perhaps more importantly, there were 1,488 recommendations for councils to improve their services for others – such as revising procedures and training staff. This is a higher proportion of the total number of recommendations than previous years, and suggests Ombudsman investigations are increasingly finding systemic problems than one-off mistakes with local government services.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “We’ve been issuing our annual reviews for the past seven years now, and while every year has seen its challenges, this year seems to have been the most difficult for local authorities.
“While the way local authorities dealt with the pressures of COVID-19 is still being played out in our casework, early indications suggest it is only widening the cracks that were already there, and has deepened our concerns about the status of complaints services within councils. These concerns are not new and cannot be wholly attributed to the trials of the pandemic.
“I am concerned about the general erosion to the visibility, capacity, and status of complaint functions within councils.
“Listening to public complaints is an essential part of a well-run and properly accountable local authority, committed to public engagement, learning, and improvement. I know the best councils still understand this and put local democracy and good complaints handling at the forefront of their services.”
The Ombudsman also writes to local councils giving them a round-up of the complaints the organisation has received about them. These letters are published on the Ombudsman’s website.
The report also highlights across England:
- Compliance with LGSCO recommendations has remained high (99.5%), demonstrating councils’ continuing commitment to putting things right.
- Fault was found in more than three quarters of complaints investigated about Education and Children’s Services (77%). There was an increase in the uphold rate of all categories of complaint, other than Environmental
Services & Protection.
- 11,830 complaints and enquiries registered
- In 11% of upheld cases, councils had already offered a suitable remedy
- 1,726 cases with recommendations to put things right
- 3,104 recommendations to remedy personal injustice
- 1,488 recommendations to improve services for others
The Ombudsman issues a separate annual review for the Adult Social Care cases it investigates, covering both local councils and independent care providers. This report is published in the Autumn.
For more information visit www.lgo.org.uk/your-councils-performance